Who Said Being In Love Was Easy?
by Sailorjj07
Summary: Chaud and Yai broke up but everyone knows they were meant to be together. Now it's up to their families and friends to give them a push in the right direction. And who's baby is Yai's mother holding? The final story in the Being In Love series!
1. After

Who Said Being In Love Was Easy?

By: Sailorjj07

1. After

A/n: Hey everyone! This is the last and final sequel in the Being in Love series. I'm really excited about this one. It'll be a lot more grown up and much more steamy. I won't get citrusy though, don't worry! ^_^

I'm really excited to be writing this last story in my series. Our main attraction will be Chaud and Yai! Yay! I hope you all like this one!

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

White lights glittered and shimmered, breaking the darkness of the night all around the large house. It gave off a festive glow in the winter's chilly air; a welcoming, warming light greeting each guest.

The annual SciLab masquerade ball was in full swing at 11 o'clock. All the SciLab employees and their family members were there, having lots of fun with their lucky friends.

A young man, just 23 years old, took another sip of his champagne and sighed. The seemingly endless search for his parents had come to a complete halt when he realized they wouldn't be found as easily as he had thought. His spiked brown head scanned the room and his single hoop earring moved in time with its bobbing to the beat of the music. His mask covered his chocolate colored eyes as they stopped on a ruby haired young woman.

She wore a sea green strapless dress; her white gloves making the white of her mask and the ruby color of her hair stand out.

"Tory, I'll be right back." The man said to his best friend, waiting until the younger one gave a nod. Tory was taller than Lan, standing at six foot six and only a year younger. He had grown out his brown hair a bit and now wore it in a sort of punk-rocker style (imagine Jonas brothers' hair), which made him even more handsome, if that was possible. He was talking to a black haired beauty in a gorgeous purple dress, his arm around her waist as he held her close to him. He was so engrossed in their conversation, he didn't notice his friend missing until the woman beside him pointed it out, the ring on her finger winking in the light.

"It looks like he found her." Natalie said, smiling warmly at Tory as he pressed a kiss into her cheek. She too had grown taller and stood at five foot seven, which was pretty tall for a 21-year-old. One thing she had seriously began to grow over the years was her hair, and now it came all the way down to her waist. She tried to keep it tied up as often as she dared, but today she let the long locks flow freely, to accentuate her dress.

And her husband loved it. He kept touching her hair, she noticed, as the night had progressed on.

"I thought she was going out of town this week?" Tory questioned, trying not to give anything away. He brushed some of his tousled bangs out of his eyes, a habit he had picked up since he grew his hair out.

"She said she wanted to surprise him." Natalie replied smoothly, her velveteen voice tickling her husband's ear. She pressed a kiss onto her lover's temple and smiled up at him. "I wonder what they're talking about?"

Lan made his way through the crowed over to the ruby haired woman, and saw her smile as he approached.

"Is this your first time here?" He asked in greeting, as he got closer to her to see a beautiful smile grace her features.

"No, my second. Although my first time was some time ago." The red head replied in a charming voice. Lan grinned at her from ear-to-ear and she felt her heart flutter in response.

Yes, he still had that effect on her.

"Oh? So you came when you were younger?"

"Yes, my absolute best, best friend brought me here with him once."

"Ah, so you aren't new to the area then."

"Oh no, I grew up here, you know. My family moved away when I was fifteen, but I moved back as soon as I graduated. I just transferred into a hospital near here."

"Oh? Are you a doctor?"

"Right now, I'm only a nurse. I'm working on becoming a doctor though."

"Oh, I see. Wanna talk more about it on the dance floor?" Lan held out his hand, knowing the ruby haired woman would take it.

"I'd love to." The woman's smile filled the room, it seemed, and the two walked to the center of the dance floor. There they started a waltz, receiving amused glances from the couple that had been watching them earlier.

"Do you know anyone from here?" Lan questioned her, smiling since he knew the answer.

"Oh yes. My best friend can't seem to be found from some reason. I was hoping she came here, but she refused to come. And the love of my life is here too, I think."

"He is? So you're already taken?"

"Do you normally ask a woman this many questions?" An amused grin covered the woman's face, as Lan twirled her around slowly.

"Only a really beautiful one."

"Oh Lan! You're too silly!" Maylu cried, suddenly attacking Lan in the middle of their dance. She was smiling widely, a blush staining her face. Her short hair bounced up and down in lovely curls, which Lan couldn't help but touch softly. She stood at five foot four, a bit shorter than Natalie, but the perfect size for Lan's six foot four, who was exactly a foot taller than her.

"What're you doing here? You told me you had a meeting in Yumland." Lan said gently, pulling Maylu much closer to his body. He loved the way she smelled and how soft she felt against him.

He just loved Maylu. Period.

"Well I did. But I did all my work quickly to get here. I wouldn't miss your parents' yearly party for the world, Lan." Maylu said, her smile warming Lan from the top of his head down to his very toes. He gave her a lopsided grin, and kissed her soundly, there in front of everyone.

Maylu was red to the tips of her ears immediately after. At that time, Tory and Natalie came over too.

"Hey you two, no making out in front of all of Dentech! Geez." Natalie cried, shaking her head at the two. She waggled her finger at the couple in front of her although there was a huge smile on her face.

Maylu just giggled as Tory gave her a hug and a soft peck on the cheek, "Maylu, I'm glad you could make it. Natty told me you were going to be coming, but I thought for sure you'd be a bit later."

"Nope, I got here on time surprisingly. So has anyone seen Yai yet?"

Natalie shrugged, "She stayed home this time. Something about her new boyfriend wanting to spend New Year's with her."

"Another new boyfriend? Isn't that like the fifth one this month?" Maylu said, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Maybe we should call Chaud and have him talk to her." Lan added, matter of factly. It was true, though. Someone needed to stop Yai's constant need to be with someone. It was getting hard to keep up with names.

"Lan, those two are not exactly on speaking terms," Tory answered softly, since he was not one for gossip.

"Ooh but this one is absolutely delicious! You should see him, Maylu!" Natalie squealed girlishly, and Maylu just shook her head. Natalie had grown up, but she was still the same old Natty.

"Natalie." Tory said her name gently, shaking his head. She gave him a look that said "What?" as if she hadn't done anything and glomped her husband.

"I still love you, darling!"

"I love you too, Natty." Tory kissed Natalie's cheek affectionately and the girl's face lit up like a bright red stoplight.

"Oh look, your Mom and Dad are about to start speaking!" Maylu told Lan while informing the group, pointing up at the huge staircase. There, dressed in elegant formal attire, stood Lan's mother and father, his mom waving at people excitedly, like she did every year.

His father started speaking first: "I would like to welcome you all to the annual SciLab New Years masquerade ball. As the chairman who has held office for the longest time in SciLab history, I am quite pleased with all the progress we have made this year. I wish everyone the best of luck in the upcoming year on all your endeavors. But, as a shy man, who's utterly nervous to host his own party, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for coming." He smiled and bowed low at the waist before the entire crowd, as applause erupted from every corner of the room.

After a few moments, the crowd grew silent once again. This time Lan's mother spoke to the group, the excitement clear in her voice.

"Enough of this business talk! It's 12 o'clock! Which means it's time to unmask ourselves. Everyone ready?"

Just as she spoke the huge grandfather clock at the entrance chimed midnight, signaling the start of a brand new year.

"Go!"

Eager to show their faces, party goers immediately began to pull of their masks, one by one, some going as far to take off their own and then chase a friend down to pull off his or her's as well.

Tory's slate gray eyes turned fully onto his wife as he reached up and removed her mask from her face gently. He kissed her exposed cheek bone, smiling as he saw her entire face once again. In the back of his mind, he realized he had missed those few inches of skin that completed her face, although the mask was absolutely beautiful on her.

Natalie returned the gesture by removing Tory's mask as well; kissing the part of his cheek that had been covered by the vertical mask. She touched her hand to his face, wondering if he felt any discomfort from the mask he had been wearing for about five hours now.

"You two...get a room, geez." Lan said, huffing as if he was sick of seeing the two already. The truth was, it was hard to be around Natalie and Tory if you weren't in love because they cared for each other so deeply. Tory had told Lan once that Natalie was his soul mate.

Lan completely believed him.

"It's still so hard to believe that you're married before me, Natalie. You're younger than I am!" Maylu cried, gushing over the romantics. Tory and Natty were so cute!

"By a few months! Plus, you'll be married soon too, Maylu. You and Lan are engaged, so what're you complaining for?"

"Well yeahhh, but you're younger than me!" Maylu replied, pouting somewhat.

Natalie laughed, taking her husband's arm. It was time to go home. "Get over it already, Maylu."

The two couples headed for the door. They would've stayed to enjoy the party until the very end, but Maylu had work in the morning. And Natalie just wanted to sleep in.

"Hey Tory, do you work tomorrow?" Lan asked him, slowing down his pace so his fiancée wasn't struggling. Sometimes he forgot how long his legs were.

"Well, I was planning to, but Dad said I didn't have to unless I wanted. Why, what's up? Don't you have to work tomorrow?"

"Nope! The department's letting all the detectives take off tomorrow. Something about letting the old men rest, haha. I was thinking we should go see Chaud."

"Hm." Tory looked thoughtful, like he was weighing his options. He glanced at his wife out of the corner of his eyes and smiled when she gave a slight nod. "Sure Lan. Let's go visit him tomorrow."

"Alright! I don't want to go alone; last time I saw him he was in an awful mood. But he likes you Tory, so maybe it'll work better for both of us."

"If that was a compliment, then thank you, Lan."

"You're welcome, Tory."

Natalie and Maylu just giggled at their men. They were just too silly.

**Elsewhere, in North Dentech**

Her apartment was completely silent. With the exception of the humming from the expensive new fridge and the air conditioning, there was no noise to be heard. She listened to her own breathing for a few moments, before letting out a loud huff.

She looked to the right, the empty space beside her an irritating reminder. They were supposed to celebrate New Year's together. He was supposed to be spoiling her with foot massages and feeding her sweet, ripe fruits.

But he didn't show.

Yai glanced at her face in the mirror. She still looked the same. She had natural blonde hair cascading to her shoulders in natural waves, and sensual bangs that covered her weakest point. A full bosom, a strong but feminine jaw, wonderfully white teeth and blonde eyebrows that were arched to perfection. Clear, straightforward blue eyes and an attitude to match. At a mere five foot one, Yai made her presence be known even if she wasn't tall enough to be at eye level with most people.

How did she keep getting into this mess? She was a strong woman, an heiress who knew how to run her kingdom; a bossy, intelligent woman who has high standards and a big forehead. So what the hell was going on?

"Screw this!" Yai yelled out in frustration, reaching over to grab her cell. She punched in a few numbers and waited patiently as a call tone played until the line went to voicemail.

Leave a message after the beep, the recording says.

"Oh, I'll leave a message all right." BEEP! "First off, we're over. Secondly, you might want to move out of your apartment. Tonight."

Click!

Yai set the phone down on her night stand and glared at the wall for a few moments, before she got out of bed.

A drink sounded really nice right now.

**End Chapter 1**


	2. A Good Thing

Who Said Being In Love Was Easy?

By: Sailorjj07

2. A Good Thing

A/n: Yup! Chapter number two! Whooo hooo!

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

He woke up on the wrong side of the bed again this morning. For most people, that would mean that the black and white haired man had just happened to be in a bad mood as soon as he got up.

But for Chaud, it meant that he had literally woken up on the wrong side of his bed.

Her side.

Chaud groaned as he rolled back over to his usual spot before sliding out of his bed. He had totally demolished that bottle of Vodka last night; he hadn't noticed till his foot hit the cool glass of the empty bottle resting near his bed.

The sunlight filtered in through the small opening in his dark curtains as Chaud made his way to the bathroom. He flipped on the light switch warily and blinked rapidly at the reflection in the mirror. His usually straight hair was totally messy and all over the place. A part of him didn't care, but he decided to try and fix it anyway. He ran his fingers through the tangled shoulder-length locks and sighed out loud as he reached for an elastic band to tie the long hair back. He parted his hair at the dividing line between his black and white hair, putting the white locks up in a ponytail while allowing the black colored hair to remain free.

After putting his hair into place as best he could with a hangover, Chaud turned on the faucet to wash his face. The cool water felt good against his skin at the moment but he knew if he kept it cold for too long, he'd soon be red in the face.

He brushed his teeth and showered in practiced silence, going through his usual morning regimen. He gulped in his morning mouth wash and began to count to 60 to himself.

"Mmmmmmmmmm, baby, we totally got drunk, didn't we?"

Chaud froze at 50-something and tried not to groan. Beside the fact that it was really dangerous to swallow mouth wash, Chaud realized he had completely forgotten that he didn't get drunk alone last night.

Whoops.

Chaud spit out the mouth wash and made his way out of the bathroom, through his bedroom and into the den where a very hung over and very naked woman lay wrapped up in a sheet he never used.

Chaud reminded himself to burn that sheet as soon as she left, if he even wanted to get it back.

"Yeah, we did." Chaud replied, leaning against the door frame and looking down at the woman on his couch. He racked his brain to remember her name or even who the hell she was, but he just couldn't seem to get it out.

Not that it mattered very much anyway.

"Baaaaabbbbyy. Can I see your bedroom now?"

"No." And he left it at that. Chaud walked away from the door frame towards the girl lying on his couch and decided his plan of action for this one would be great enough to make her never want to come back again. "So... did you sleep well?"

"Probably would've been better if I could sleep in your bed," the woman replied, icily, sitting up to glare at Chaud as she wrapped the blanket tighter around herself.

"Oh really? Then you should go sleep in your own bed. Right now. Get your shit and get out."

The girl was taken aback; it was like her drunken mind couldn't register what he had just said to her. With an irritated sigh, Chaud tried again: "You have two minutes to get you and your belongings out of my house before I call security."

"Wha-? You're kidding, right? You can't be serious!"

"I'm very serious. And-" Chaud looked down at his watch and then looked back up at the woman with a malicious smirk, "You now have one minute left."

The woman huffed and in a flurry of heels, sheets and a red clutch to match her angry face, was up and out of his apartment in less than thirty seconds.

Chaud smirked happily, but just to be on the safe side, he pulled out his PET: "Protoman, make sure she has no access to this building's directory, my records or anything concerning me. Block her out completely."

The navi nodded at his OP's command and left immediately to do what he was told.

"Now, for a shower."

**Elsewhere, Northern Dentech**

"Mannnnnn Tory, can you please wake Natalie up! We were supposed to be at lunch already!" Yai cried in exasperation. She couldn't believe Natalie was sleeping in still! It was a Monday! Normal people had work in the morning, didn't they?

"Yai, I'm really sorry. She's just been extremely tired lately, I don't know why-"

Yai stopped everything she was doing and turned to Tory with a bright, hopeful look on her face, "Is she pregnant? Plllleeeaaasseee tell me Natty is pregnant!"

Tory blushed brightly and found that his shoes were getting pretty interesting, "...we're not sure just yet. It's still too early."

"Whatttt? YES! NATTY'S GONNA HAVE A BABY!"

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!**

Yai looked up curiously as she heard the noise coming from the 25" inch computer screen resting on top of a lovely white desk near the couch. As the two netnavis realized they had everyone's attention, Nadalia and Iceman waved at Yai.

Nadalia grinned in an extremely contagious manner, "We're hoping it's a girl!"

"Nadalia, don't start spreading things around! I can hear you, you know!" Natalie came down the stairs, holding her head as she glared heatedly at her close friend and netnavi. Yai wanted to jump up and hug her but Natalie just looked so sleepy that she couldn't find the heart to do it.

"Natty, what's wrong? Are you sick today?"

"Nope. You woke me up with all of your screaming, so now I'm grumpy. Great going," Natalie told Yai, plopping down in her husband's lap. She kissed Tory on his lips, covering their kiss with her hand, so Yai wouldn't have to see it.

Of course, she saw it anyway, but at least Natalie was being polite a little bit.

"Anyways, why are you here so early in the morning?"

"Darling, it's noon," Tory replied, chuckling as he wrapped his arms around his wife's waist. Natalie looked surprised for a moment, and then laughed herself.

"Whoops."

"Anyways, we were supposed to go to lunch, remember?" Yai popped a peppermint into her mouth, and looked around at the Froid's house. Natalie had decorated it to perfection, which was expected. She was one of the best interior decorators in all of Dentech.

It wasn't so much that she didn't want to see Tory and Natalie fawning all over each other; they were always so refreshing to see because they really loved each other very much. It just hurt Yai because it reminded her of how she used to be.

No, she and Chaud had been even worse...

Yai tried to keep her mind off the dangerous path it was treading and realized Natalie was talking to her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what'd you say?"

"I said, forehead, that if you give me about thirty minutes, I can get ready."

Yai fumed at her horrible grade school nickname. Her bangs had long since been cut in the best way to cover up how big her forehead was.

"What if I don't have thirty minutes? I may have already spent all the time I have waiting on you, ya know."

"Awwww, but Yaiiiii! I'm starving!" Natalie cried, pouting severely.

Yai laughed at her, clearly amused by her friend's antics as she stood up to kiss Natalie's cheek then Tory's, "whose fault is that? Anyways, we'll just go tomorrow. That way Maylu can come too. I have an appointment with my Mother soon anyway." Yai turned towards the computer screen, "Bye you two! Natty, I'll call you tomorrow, okay hun? And you better have taken a test by then!"

"It's still too early, silly woman!" Natalie called after her, as Yai walked out of the door. She shook her head as she stood right at the door way, looking down at the sidewalk.

"I guess she wouldn't know that they could find out early." But Yai knew...Again, she shook her head and made her way to her bright blue car. She really didn't want to go to her mother's just yet but it was better to get it over with and not prolong the inevitable.

**Later, At the Eugene Family Mansion**

"Oh, what a pleasant surprise! We weren't expecting you both to be here at the same time!"

Yai sighed loudly. Her mother was the worst liar this side of the northern hemisphere. She and Mrs. Eugene had totally planned for her and Chaud to be here at the same time. It always happened this way. Every month.

Yai looked in his direction. She tried to stop the rapid pounding in her heart; tried to keep her gaze away from him for more than a minute. It was hard. It was painfully, achingly difficult.

But she willed herself to try her damnedest anyway.

"Hello Mother."

Yai sat down in a chair across from her mother, putting a wooden end table between herself and Chaud. He glanced at her coolly, like he always did when they saw each other now.

Yai didn't know that it was all to save face.

Chaud was struggling as much as Yai was. Whenever he saw her he wanted to hold her; wanted to tell her how much he loved her...Except that was a lie. Loved would mean that he stopped and he hadn't. Chaud had never stopped loving Yai and would always love her no matter what happened between them.

If only he had been there for her instead of being the coward that he was. If only he hadn't pushed his own will on her when she had needed him the most.

It seemed like such a long time ago, really.

"Chaud?"

Chaud looked up. His mother had been speaking to him and he was completely ignoring her, thrown into a fit of dangerous thoughts when Yai came around. He missed her too much.

"Yes mother?"

"I was asking you whose turn it is this month."

"Mine." He told her, ignoring the look that Yai gave him out of the corner of his eyes. Damn it all, she didn't have to make that face!

"I see. Did you each have a good New Year's?" Yai's mother asked the two, looking between them both.

"No," the two said in unison, then glanced at each other. Yai's eyes widened a bit before she hastily turned away from Chaud, feeling her heart pound incessantly under his gaze. It always did.

"No? Then why on Earth did you bring Mi-chan to us? You should've just spent New Year's together as a family."

"Mother-" each offspring began to chastise Yai's mom, but stopped when they realized they were speaking in unison again. Yai eyed Chaud warily and he rolled his eyes before motioning for the smaller woman to speak.

"Mother, you each asked for him on New Year's Eve and since Chaud has Mimi for the entire month of January, we figured it'd just be best for both of you to get him then. We do this every month."

"I still don't see why I can't just drop him off at your condo, Yai." Chaud told Yai through clenched teeth. Seriously, this whole arrangement pissed him off immensely.

"Because you have no reason to know where I live, Chaud." Yai responded, without missing a beat. The two looked at each other, an intense silence growing between them.

At that moment the door opened and a small child teetered into the room. He had bright blonde hair on the top of his head, but it was as if an invisible line had been drawn on his scalp and black locks finished off the hair touching the little boy's neck. He had wide, piercing green eyes with a wide, happy smile to match. The boy had to be about three or close to it, with chubby cheeks. His forehead wasn't huge, and he was sturdy, like his father.

"Mommy! Daddy!" the child called, and ran towards his mother, who was closer to the door than his dad.

Yai picked up her son, Misaki, and rubbed her cheeks with his, "How is my baby today?"

"Mimi is fine, Mommy! How you?"

Yai grinned, kissing the little boy's cheek, "I'm fine, sweetheart."

Misaki wiggled as his mama held him, reaching out for his daddy. Reluctantly, Yai handed the boy over to Chaud, who was smirking as widely as was possible for him, "Hey son."

"Hi Daddy! How you?"

"I'm excellent. Did your grandmothers treat you okay?"

"Yes Daddy! Very okay!" The toddler grinned widely, showing a few teeth before he happily hugged his father around his neck, squeezing tightly.

"See? He missed you guys." Yai's mother commented, the entire scene touching her heart.

"He wouldn't miss you so much if you lived together." Chaud's mother grumbled, feeling her heart break for her one and only grandson. He shouldn't have to live this way!

"Mother." Chaud commented, glowering at his mother over his son's shoulder. Misaki was chattering happily about something to Yai from his position at his father's shoulder and the young mother was nodding happily, attempting to understand what the boy was actually saying.

"What? I'm just saying."

"Well, you can say as much as you want. We're leaving. Yai?"

Yai looked up as her name was called. Chaud had stood up, holding her son close to his body as if he was only his. She fought the urge to glare and instead put on a huge smile for Misaki, "Goodbye, my love. Mommy will come visit you soon, okay?"

"Okay Mommy! Love you, bye!" Misaki waved happily at his mother, not realizing the slightly saddened look upon her face. Chaud, however, did see it.

"I've told you this every month, like I always do. You can come see him whenever you want." Chaud told Yai, as he reached down to gather his son's little backpack that they packed for overnighters.

"I know, Chaud. I know."

And with that, Yai left.

**That Evening, At Chaud's Apartment**

"Daddy daddy daddy! Somebody's 'ere!"

Chaud blinked. Who was at his house at this hour? It had to be almost 8 in the evening. Chaud's heart stopped. What if it was Yai? Did she really miss Misaki that much?

Well, of course she did. He did too.

"Misaki, go take your bath. I'll be in there in a minute."

As the tike ran off to do his father's bidding, Chaud continued his thought process, while walking toward the front door. It probably wasn't Yai. She usually called to make sure he was at home. Actually, everyone usually called.

Chaud looked through the peep-hole and saw it was Lan and Tory at his door.

Which put him in an even bigger hole. Lan and Tory didn't know about Misaki. None of their friends knew about Misaki. On Yai's orders, they had sworn themselves to secrecy, had even made a point to never invite their friends over when the baby was awake or at their house.

Chaud hadn't had that much trouble hiding Misaki's existence from his friends. He locked his son's door whenever others were around, even if his son wasn't there. And he had always made it a strict rule for everyone to call before they came.

This was the first time, since Misaki was born, that they had ignored the rule. Granted, Yai and Chaud had stayed in the Eugene mansion where Misaki's wing had been on the other side of the house, so it wasn't hard when the baby was born. But after that, when Misaki was two, and he and Yai had split, it had gotten a little more difficult to hide the bottles and little baby dishes when his friends came to visit.

But he had done it all for the sake of Yai.

Now, though...crap.

Chaud tried to figure out what on Earth to do because this situation had absolutely never happened. He just stood there, hoping the two would go away, thinking he wasn't at home.

Until his cell phone began to ring.

"Damn it." Chaud cursed. He knew the other two could hear the ringtone playing loudly. His phone had been sitting right on the end table near the door. There was no helping the situation now.

Chaud yanked the door open, glaring at the two men in front of him. Lan immediately held his hands up in his usual defensive nature, sensing his friend's irritation.

"Did we come at a bad time?"

"Yes, a very bad time. So bad, in fact, that you two need to-"

It was at that time that Misaki decided to run into the living room with absolutely no clothes on, "Daddy! The water go all cold! Brrrrrr!"

"Uhhhh?" Lan questioned stupidly, looking between the child and Chaud. Chaud cursed again, under his breath since his son was there and picked the naked child up.

"You two sit down. I have to bathe my kid." Chaud swept out of the room, leaving the two men at his front door to stare open-mouthed at each other. By some miracle, both Lan and Tory sat down on the couch, each as shocked as the other.

"D-did he just say-?" Lan whispered fiercely, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him.

Tory chuckled under his breath, more amused by Lan than by this situation, "It appears Chaud has something he wants to tell us."

"We just came here to check on him not find out he has a kid! What the heck? How do you hide a whole baby from your friends?"

"I've been doing it for three years; I'm actually pretty good at it by now." Chaud replied, as he walked back in from the back of his apartment. He sat in the chair furthest away from his friends, staring them down as if waiting for some kind of judgment.

"He's adorable." Tory was the first to speak, a warm smile crossing his face. Chaud gave him a nod of thanks and then turned his gaze to Lan, who looked like he was still in shock.

"Well...what-? What happened? Who's the mom?"

"Oh come on, Lan, even I know the answer to that." Tory admonished his obviously slow friend, chuckling at how slow the wheels turned in Lan's brain.

"Yai." Chaud answered, fairly amused by Lan as well.

"When did you and Yai have a kid? How did we miss this? What the heck is going on?"

Chaud sighed, before standing up and heading towards the kitchen. He definitely needed something to drink. "You two thirsty?"

"Anything you have is fine by me," Tory replied quietly.

"Juice please!" Lan called, eagerly.

Once all three men had their own cups with their selective beverages in it, Chaud began his story, "Three years ago, when Yai was 18, we...well, we had a sort of accident. Yai was in the process of switching birth control methods and I just wasn't careful."

"Well, why not? You are with all those other girls."

"Lan..." Tory began, but Chaud shook his head. He had no shame in saying it out loud.

"Because I love Yai. More than anyone else on this planet. I bet you aren't careful with Maylu either. And we know Tory isn't, since Natty's pregnant."

"H-Hey, we aren't sure yet!" Tory cried, blushing. Lan and Chaud just laughed at their friend.

"Anyways, we had the accident and Yai ended up pregnant. So now we have Misaki-"

"What a wonderful name," Tory commented, and Chaud again gave him another nod before continuing with the story.

"We had Misaki. But Yai didn't want everyone to know she had a son at 18. She hadn't graduated from high school yet. Hell, she was barely old enough to get married. She was afraid of what people would say, of what you guys would think. So she told me to hide it; told me not to utter a word to anyone until she was ready."

"But how'd she hide her pregnancy from all of us so well?" Lan questioned.

"Well, she didn't really get all that big. Even at 9 months, Yai just looked like she had eaten too much at lunch. But even then, she was afraid she was going to get big. So at five months, she moved into my parents' house and told everyone else she was going to study abroad."

"In Yumland. That's why she was gone for those four months."

"Exactly."

"But the pictures! She brought back pictures and souvenirs for us all."

"Photoshop. And the gifts, we ordered over the Net from a shop in Yumland."

"Wow...You guys had it all planned out."

"Yeah. After Misaki was born, Yai still didn't want to tell you guys. I pushed for her to tell you, you know. Every day, I told her to tell you guys. But she didn't want to. It became a daily thing for us. But I still loved Yai. So one day, I asked her to marry me. Of course, she said yes and we got married and lived in my parents' house. But she didn't want to tell you guys about that either. I got angry, because I felt like Yai was ashamed of me. Ashamed of our son. So we split."

"Over that?"

"Well, not just over that, but that was the biggest cause. We were constantly fighting about her lying to everyone. I got up fed up. I told her if she was going to lie to the people she called friends everyday of our lives, how did I know she wasn't lying to me? She took that as me accusing her of cheating and because I had the gall to accuse her of it, she went and did it."

"She cheated on you?"

At Chaud's tense silence, Lan realized his question was answered. But Chaud shook his head, "I honestly couldn't tell you if she did or didn't. A part of me thinks she did, but I really don't think so. I think she lied about it and told me she did, just to push me over the edge. So she wouldn't have to take responsibility. Regardless, it did what it was supposed to. When she told me about it all, I just lost it. I told her to get out of my house and that we were getting a divorce. But she didn't want that and I honestly didn't want it either."

"So you guys are still married?"

"Well, of course. Have you guys never looked at Yai's mail or anything? My last name is all over that stuff. She is still Mrs. Yai Eugene."

Both men were silent as they each took sips of their beverages. Chaud watched his friends' faces for a reaction, for anything, but realized each were sipping thoughtfully.

Finally, Tory spoke first: "Do you still love her?"

"Tory, she's my wife. Of course I do."

"Then get her back." Lan stated simply, putting his cup down on the coffee table in front of him. He looked at Chaud plainly, as if the plan was super simple.

"It's better for your son, too. Little Misaki needs both his parents with him." Tory added, and Chaud couldn't help but nod.

"Yai doesn't want me back, though." Chaud replied quietly, staring down into his glass.

"Are you kidding? That woman adores the ground you walk on as much as she did before. Natty tells me that all the time."

"I agree. You can tell because she dates these guys that are so opposite of you. She's doing it to provoke you, man." Lan looked contemplative as he spoke and Chaud could tell both of his friends meant what they were saying.

"I don't know..."

"Well, you're free to do whatever you want, Chaud." Tory placed his drink down on the table beside Lan's and stood up, "Can we meet Misaki now?"

"Sure. He should be in bed."

Chaud stood up and led Tory and Lan into his son's room. The two looked around, shocked that a room like this had always been in their friend's apartment.

"I always thought this door was a closet!" Lan exclaimed when Chaud unlocked the door with its key and let his two friends inside. Misaki was playing with his toy train set in his room and when the three men walked in, he looked up curiously.

"Eh?" The child questioned, standing up. "Daddy?"

"Misaki, this is your Uncle Lan and Uncle Tory. Want to say hi?" Chaud asked, smiling down at his son as the small child clung to his pant leg.

"Hi 'cle Lan and 'cle Ri!" Misaki waved jovially at the two. He grinned widely and then inched forward while still holding onto his dad's leg. "How you?"

"I'm great, little one. How're you?" Tory asked, leaning down so that he was eye-to-eye with the child. His father had once said told him that it was good to speak to kids at their eye level.

"Eggcelent!" The little boy replied.

Tory fought the urge to coo at the child. "May I hold you?"

In response, Misaki held his arms up for Tory, allowing the man to pick him up.

"Chaud, he's awesome!" Lan cried, waving at the kid in Tory's arms. Chaud laughed, utterly amused.

"I'm glad you guys think so."

But Chaud couldn't help but wonder how angry Yai would be at him for telling Tory and Lan. Plus knowing those two, Natalie and Maylu would know as soon as the two men walked into their front doors. Chaud prayed that Natalie and Maylu would talk some sense into Yai.

Yes, it truly was a good thing that their friends know, Chaud decided. A very good thing.

End Chapter 2


	3. Paying Dues

Who Said Being In Love Was Easy?

By: Sailorjj07

3. Paying Dues

A/n: Hey everybody!

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

Tory sighed as he closed the door behind him. It was 10 o'clock already and he knew, just knew! - that Natalie was already asleep. She was always so tired lately, going to bed around 8 or 9, at the latest.

Tory dropped his keys on the table in the entryway, leaving the lights off as he felt his way through his house. It wasnt that hard since he and Natalie had lived here for nearly three years now, but it was still dark. Tory tapped his foot against the bottom step of the stairs, making sure he didn't trip over it as he made his way up.

As he reached the top landing and headed towards the bedroom, he tried not to sigh out loud when he saw the door wide open and the bathroom light on.

Crap.

"I'm assuming you had a lot of fun at Chaud's?"

Natalie pushed her reading glasses from the bridge of her nose up to rest on the top of her head, regarding her husband with a lifted eyebrow as she put her book down on the nightstand. Tory stripped his shirt off and dropped it in the basket near the door, and his belt followed the discarded garment soon after. He had unbuttoned his jeans by the time he got to his bed where Natalie was grinning in amusment at Tory's pouty expression.

He slid into the bed beside his wife and pulled her to him, lacing his fingers with hers while he leaned down to press kisses into her neck. Natalie giggled a bit when Tory nibbled at her skin and then with one final kiss, he looked up at her with his gray eyes shining in love.

"I had loads of fun," he told her, sarcasm lacing the smirk on his face.

Natalie brushed Tory's bangs from his eyes, kissing his forehead warmly. Her violet eyes gleamed cheerfully, although her husband could tell she was sleepy.

"Oh? Tell me about it."

Tory heaved another sigh, much longer than the one he had held back out in the hallway. He buried his face into Natalie's neck, closing his eyes as he rested there, formulating how exactly to tell his wife the news. Chaud had encouraged both him and Lan to tell the women, several times, as they played with Misaki. As if the fact that they had kept such a thing from them for this long wasn't as bad as it sounded.

"...has a baby."

Natalie blinked. She couldn't hear what her husband was saying because his face was pushed up against her.

"What'd you say?"

When Tory didn't answer, Natalie sat up from her spot on the bed and reached out to Tory. She took his face in both of her hands and pulled at his cheeks, pinching them. Tory made moans of displeasure since it was hard to talk while your wife was pulling at your face.

"What did this mouth say? What're you hiding from me?" Natalie questioned, giggling at the faces she was making with Tory's unhappy participation.

"I said-! Ow! Natty!"

Natalie laught outright as Tory rubbed his irritated cheeks. They flamed up red, obviously irritated. "Go ahead, spit it out."

"I said...Chaud and Yai have a baby... His name is Misaki. I met him today."

Natalie looked unsure as Tory spoke, the smile on her face falling away as she tried to wrap her mind around her husband's words. She was quiet for a moment and Tory waited...

It would come soon enough.

"Are...are you sure?"

Now that wasn't what he had expected. He was ready for her to scream and yell about how wrong it was for Yai to treat them that way. He had expected her to lean over and pick up her PET and call Yai right away.

But asking him if he was sure?

"Yeah. You should see him, Natty. He looks just like them both. A very even mix. He has blonde and black hair."

"And how old is he?"

"I think he's two. Maybe three."

"And Chaud told you about him?"

"No, he came running out of the bathroom, completely naked, telling Chaud how the water in his bath was cold."

Natalie laughed a little, which was a good thing. She looked thoughtful as she leaned down onto her husband's shoulder, "Was he more like Yai or Chaud?"

"Neither. He reminds me of...a young Lan or Maylu. He was completely honest and open. He let both Lan and I hold him as soon as Chaud introduced us as his uncles."

"I wonder what baby Tory was like?" Natalie mused, kissing her husband's shoulder softly. Tory smiled and put his arms around Natalie, pulling her close to his chest.

"Probably much quieter than a baby Natalie."

"Hey, whatever! I was a good kid!"

"Suuure you were."

"Whatever!"

**With Lan and Maylu**

"I knew that trip was iffy! I just knew it!" Maylu slapped her fist into her palm as she nodded, as if completely sure of her conclusion.

Lan shook his head, hoping that maybe the action would stop Maylu from the tangent she was going to get on. She was pacing as she spoke, her short, cropped ruby red hair bouncing with each step she took.

"I just can't believe they would hide something like that from us. This is huge! Yai was pregnant! Yai was married! They're still married!" Maylu paused, as if she had suddenly hit an invisible wall, "Both of my friends are married and they're younger than me!"

Maylu flopped down on the couch in exasperation, and Lan put his arm around his fiancee, trying not to laugh at her. Seriously, she was the one who said she wanted to wait for them to get married until after she had graduated from medical school.

"Maylu, I think you're missing the point."

"No, I'm not. I know what the point is. But still-!"

Lan shrugged and kissed Maylu's cheek, "So what're you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to call Natalie first thing in the morning. And we'll go from there."

**The Next Day, at Yai's House**

Yai had left work early today on the request of Maylu and Natalie. Natalie had said something about having news for she and Maylu, although Yai was sure that she already knew what it was.

Natalie was pregnant, she could bet.

Yai reminded herself not to give Natalie any tips. She would ask as many questions as Maylu and play along. She'd be in awe and help her find books, giving her little two cents as though she had uneducated guesses.

No one needed to know that she had already gone through a pregnancy.

"Hmmm..." Yai plopped down on her couch and stretched out lazily. Really, it was a good thing that they had asked her to leave early anyway; she had wanted to get a little bit more rest before going over to Chaud's to check on Misaki.

Though her son had only been with his father for a day, she already missed him. She selfishly wanted her son back in her own arms'; especially since he had spent New Year's with his grandmothers.

"That's okay, Mi-chan, you'll see me tonight."

At that moment, there was a knock on her door, followed by her doorbell ringing. Yai got up off the couch and smoothed out her clothes and hair, before heading to the front door. She was greeted by the sight of Natalie and Maylu with very upset faces. Both women stood in her doorway with their arms crossed and Yai didn't speak as she opened the door and let them both in.

"Would you two like a dri-?"

"We know about Miskai, Yai. So you better spill, right now, before I get really angry." Natalie, the ever blunt one, was the first to speak. Maylu turned to her, rolling her eyes, while she walked over to Yai's couch and sat down.

Yai stared, open mouthed at the two, not even knowing how to move. Natalie followed after Maylu, not at all moved by the look on Yai's face.

"Y-You...you know?"

"Yeah, Yai, we know and we are not happy."

"Well, no, we are, but we're not happy that you kept it from us." Maylu added, nudging Natalie a bit. Natalie shrugged as if she didn't care about the delivery of the message; as long as the point got across.

Yai finally managed to shake the horrified look off of her face and slowly, catiously, made her way over to her couch. She plopped down between her two friends, both of whom reached out and held the hand closest to them.

"H-How?"

"Your HUSBAND didn't know Tory and Lan were going to visit him last night. They broke his rule about calling before you come and just showed up. Miskai ran out of the bathroom completely naked because his bath water wasn't warm enough and they saw him." Natalie told Yai, watching her face.

Maylu, who was sitting on Yai's other side, laughed outright,"Really? Lan didn't tell me about that part! Haha."

"I heard he's cute too." Natalie continued, knowing Yai was going to cave soon.

"Yup, Lan did tell me that."

"How much do you know?" Yai asked, staring straight ahead. Maylu watched Yai's face as her best friend spoke, wondering what was going through the younger woman's mind.

"We know that you and Chaud got married without telling us. We know you had a baby and hid it from us too. We also know that you told Chaud you cheated on him, which we all know is a lie." Maylu decided to take a page out of Natalie's book, as she told the other two what she knew and both women stared at her, shocked at how well Maylu listed all of Yai's "sins".

"...And?"

"And that's all we know. Care to fill in anywhere?" Natalie questioned, turning to face Yai. Maylu did the same and Yai leaned back against her couch, staring up at the ceiling.

"I..."

"You were ashamed. You thought we would be mean to you because you were pregnant at 18, is that it?"

"I...I..."

"Did you feel trapped by Chaud? Is that why you lied to him? Or were you pushing him away for some other reason?"

"IT-! IT ISN'T LIKE THAT!"

And the tears came. At first, they simply filled her eyes, but soon the dams broke and the tears were spilling. Yai could feel their intensity growing and soon she threw herself at Maylu, sobbing in earnest into her chest.

"Oh Yai. Don't cry. We aren't that mad at you." Natalie murmured, rubbing Yai's back comfortingly. Maylu nodded in agreement and patted Yai on the head.

"I was so scared! I was so very afraid! When Miskai was born, I only had my parents and Chaud." Yai managed to croak out, between her tears.

"His parents don't approve of you?"

"Oh, they were there too, but that wasn't the point! I needed my friends! I wanted to tell you guys so badly. I wanted your support, I really did!"

"Then why didn't you tell us, Yai? We would've supported you, you know that!" Maylu cried, looking down at her soaked shirt. In that short span of time, Yai had managed to cry a lot of tears.

Yai breathed slowly and deeply, trying to calm herself before she opened her mouth to speak again, "I didn't want you guys to be angry with me. For being a liar. Once the lies started, I couldn't stop them. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you the truth. I was terrified of losing you guys. I didn't want your parents to make you stop being friends with me because I was married and with a child at such a young age."

"What're you talking about, Yai? We're all older than you anyway!" Natalie added, wondering where this girl's head was at. Seriously, why would she think something like that!

"I know, I just...I was scared. The entire thing; the whole situation scared me. I thought I would lose my friends, and my family and...and Chaud too."

"Well, you didn't. You didn't lose any of those things at all, so you're fears were completely unnecessary." Maylu told Yai, patting her head once again.

Yai started to nod, but then realized Maylu was wrong and shook her head, "No, you're wrong. They were utterly true. Look at me and Chaud. I lost him, didn't I?"

"You lost him because you made a dumb mistake! You can fix it!" Natalie cheered, hoping it would make Yai feel a little better about the situation.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you kidding? Your husband loves you, Yai. He always has and always will. Every chick he's ever dated has never even seen the inside of his bedroom. What do you think that means?"

"That he doesn't want to contaminate his house?"

"No, you dolt. It means that he's keeping YOUR place sacred. He wants it to be clean. He refuses to soil the place where you belong in hopes that you'll lay there again one day."

"Whoa, Natty, very poetic." Maylu commented, giggling as she teased her friend.

"You guys, I don't know..."

"Then why are you still married to him, Yai?" This time Maylu voiced the question that had been on her's and Natalie's mind since they discussed the whole situation last night.

"Why? ...I-I don't really know..."

"Yes, you do. You're still married to your husband because you love him. Just like you told your husband you had cheated on him to protect him. You were offering him a way out even though he didn't want out. You just thought he did. Yai, Chaud loves you so much. I know he does."

Yai sat in the chair silently, thinking. She had always told herself to stop loving Chaud, since they had split up. Yai had forced all her feelings for her husband down; had ignored any moves he had made to fix what had been bruised between them.

But what if she didn't have to do that anymore? Could she have any hope... at all?

"Thanks you guys," Yai told her two friends, as she put an arm around both, "I love you two, very much. I really appreciate you guys still supporting me, even though I've been lying to you all this time."

"Eh, it's cool. Just don't do it again, got it?" Natalie asked, grinning widely. Maylu was smiling as well and the three women shared a group hug.

Yai closed her eyes, feeling a blissful relief wash over her and an enormous weight lifted off of her shoulders. Now to remove the boulder tied to her back...

End Chapter 3


	4. The Shake

Who Said Being In Love Was Easy?

By: Sailorjj07

4. The Shake

A/n: Hey yall! I'm shocked, really. I expected a whole lot more reviews and readers since my first two stories were so popular. But hey, I'm happy for the people who stayed with me through all three, so thanks.

Hope you guys like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

Actions

(Me!)

Yai tossed another dress onto her bed and huffed. None of her clothes was going to work. She couldn't go over there in just any old thing!

Natalie, who was quietly sipping some juice, lifted an eyebrow. Perhaps Yai would notice her...

She yelped as part of a dress almost took a nose dive into her cup.

Then again, probably not.

"Yai."

Yai jumped; completely shocked that Natalie was in her apartment, let alone in her room. She turned around slowly, wondering when and how exactly she got in.

"You gave me a spare key, remember?" Natalie told her, as if reading her friend's mind.

"Oh, right. When'd you get here?" Yai continued to rummage through her closet, keeping her back to her best friend. She didn't need Natalie to know what she was looking for or WHY; Natty would definitely spill the beans.

"Ooh about twenty minutes ago...sooo?"

"Soooooo?" Yai continued, still looking through the closet. Nope, red wasn't the right color and neither was purple.

"Watcha doooooin?'

"Um..." Yai blanched. What did she say? What did she say? "Errrrr..."

"Yai, didn't we discuss this? No lying to us."

"Riiiggghhhhtttt. About that." Yai gathered an armful of dresses and dropped them all on the bed, before turning to look at her juice-drinking friend, "Can we work on that sometime tomorrow?"

"Lemme think...How about... no? We talked about this just yesterday and already you want to lie to us. My goodness, Yai, aren't you terrible?" Natalie tisked, finishing off her juice and then leaning back fully on Yai's oversized bed.

Seriously, the woman was barely five foot anything; she didn't need a bed this big.

"But Natty-! I just-!"

Natalie ignored her, shaking her head and typing some keys on her cell, "Ya know, you aren't supposed to yell at a pregnant woman." Natalie told her, as she put the phone to her ear.

Yai fell backwards on the bed beside Natalie, watching her as she waited for the phone to ring. There were several rings, before a calm, warm voice answered, "Hello Natty."

"Tory! Baby, I am sooo hungry!"

Tory's mellow baritone rumbled up from Natalie's cell phone and Yai just watched the smile explode across her friend's face.

"Natty, you still have 30 minutes until lunch is ready, honey. I told you that when you left the house, love."

Goodness, they didn't know how much they stabbed into her heart. Over and over again.

"But I'm starving! The baby and I want something really good! Something with jelly and mustard!"

Yai gagged. Jelly and mustard?

Tory's good-natured laughter filtered in the room, "Jelly and mustard? What are you feeding my child?"

"But jelly's sweet and mustard...well it isn't! Please, love?"

"Of course, Natty. If my other half wants jelly and mustard, then jelly and mustard she'll get."

Natalie cheered as Yai sat back up. She hadn't really had cravings like that with Misaki. How odd that Natalie was eating such weird things. She held a deep, forest green wrap-around dress in her hand as she shook her head and walked towards the bathroom to change.

"Hey Yai! Would you like to come over and have lunch with us? Tory's cooking today!"

Yai smiled. Tory's cooking was awesome. Definitely not like Chaud's cooking. His cooking was completely scientific; good but not with any personal touch to it. Chaud wasn't that type of person.

He made his personal touches on other things...like he had on her.

"Do you think he'll mind?" Yai leaned out of the bathroom door as she got her toiletries and her towel together.

"Not at all! I already told him you were coming!" Natalie giggled, getting up from Yai's bed. "I'm gonna go put this in the kitchen. I'll wait for you."

"Okay."

**Later**

"Ahhhh! He put the jelly in the center! Tory, I love you!" Natalie cooed as she gave her husband a sticky sweet kiss on the cheek. She held her plate close to her, resisting the urge to cuddle the delicious treat.

Tory had made chicken breasts with a mustard glaze and some roasted asparagus. Natalie had been happy for the mustard glaze but seemed a little crestfallen that there was no jelly too. So when Tory walked over with a basket of rolls and Natalie reached for one on the top, her husband shook his head softly.

"No, honey, grab the one to the right. That and the three underneath are especially for you." He smiled as Natalie reached for the rolls and bit into one.

That was when the caresses began. Natalie rubbed her cheek against Tory's, cooing even more as she took another bite in her jelly filled doughy treat.

"Yuuuuuuummmmyyyy!" Natalie mumbled out, crawling into her husband's lap and devouring the roll in two more bites. She reached for another one and ate it more slowly this time, enjoying the taste.

Yai took this as her cue to go.

"Heh, Tory, thanks for the wonderful lunch." Yai told him, standing up.

Tory nodded back at her, waving slightly as Natalie waved at Yai enthusiastically from her new found seat, "Thanks for coming over. Natalie really wanted to see you."

"I did! So did the baby!"

"And the baby too, it seems," Tory added, touching Natalie's stomach softly. She beamed up at him and then turned back to face Yai, some jelly sticking to her cheek.

"Are you going to visit Mi-chan? And Chaud?"

Yai froze with her hand on the door handle. What the heck? How did Natalie know that was his nickname anyway?

"Natty!" Tory hushed her, fearing that Yai would have a break down right then and there.

"S-She's right. I am." Yai nodded as she opened the door, as if reassuring herself that she actually was going to visit her son and ex-husband.

Well...technically, her husband still, but...

"Good luck!" Natalie cried joyfully, as Yai closed the door behind herself. She locked the door with her key and walked out to the limo that was waiting for her, as usual. She released a huge sigh...

She was really going to go do this.

**With Chaud**

"!"

Chaud cringed as he moved the phone away from his ear. What on Earth was Mi-chan doing? Was he trying to destroy the entire house? Chaud couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Misaki was destructive...just like his mother. Yai would be proud, he was sure of it.

The three year old came charging into his father's office in the condo, grinning from ear to ear as he played with a toy airplane. He zoomed from the front door to the chair where his father reached down and picked him up.

Chaud listened to the voices on the other end of the line and held a finger to his lips at Misaki's curious glance.

"Mi-chan, shhhh. Papa's in a meeting."

Misaki nodded eagerly, understanding the words in his own childlike way. He squirmed in his father's grasp until Chaud put him back down on the floor and zoomed back out of the room, probably to go demolish the Living Room.

"Was that my grandson just now?" Came the voice on the other end of the phone.

Chaud grinned; his dad had such good hearing in his old age.

"Yes, Father."

"Why is he in the meeting?" His father's voice was exceedingly amused, and it spread to Chaud.

"His plane flight happened to crash in my office today."

Chaud's father chuckled in his ear as Chaud clicked on a few random things on the computer screen. All of a sudden, he heard a loud knock on the front door and Misaki came back to him, running, again.

"PAAAAPPPPPPAAAAAAA! DOOOOOOR!"

Chaud picked his son up and spoke quickly to his father, "Hey, I gotta go. Someone's at the door. I trust you'll make an excellent decision."

"Of course I will. Goodbye son."

"Bye Dad."

He rarely called him that, even now. But he was feeling generous today. Chaud hung up the phone and left it in his office, walking towards the Living Room with his son staring at the door curiously in his arms.

He put the child down and Misaki stared at the door, and then shouted: "Mama!"

Chaud glanced at his son and shook his head. There was no way Yai would be here. She never came over.

There was another knock on the door and Chaud frowned. Why were they so impatient?

"Whatever you're selling, I don't-! Yai?"

Her face was absolutely panicked as she rushed past Chaud and scooped her son up. He was giggling loudly as she poked and looked him over, then she turned to Chaud, "Why was he calling for me?"

"I guess he knew it was you at the door. He was fine, I swear." Chaud told her, running a hand through his hair. His heart was pounding a thousand miles a minute as he shut the door.

Why was she here? What was she doing at his house? Why the hell did she have on such a beautiful green dress?

Chaud tried to ignore how the dark green made her lovely blue eyes sparkle and how her blonde curls contrasted greatly with the dark color. He tried to ignore the fact that he could somewhat see down her dress as she was bent over, checking on Misaki. And most of all, he tried to keep himself from staring.

But damn, he was having a hard time with it.

"Mama!" Misaki cried, hugging Yai around the neck and giving her the world's most sloppy kiss. He seemed exceedingly happy to see her, as if it hadn't been only two days since she'd last seen him.

Those two days had felt like two weeks for Yai.

She straightened up finally, picking Misaki up and heading over to the couch. Chaud ran his hands through his hair again, and followed the two, wondering what he was supposed to say in this moment. He still didn't even know why she was here!

"Yai, why are you-?"

"Shhhh. Misaki's going to sleep."

Chaud rolled his eyes. His son was falling asleep in her arms, it was clearly his nap time, but that didn't have anything to do with why she was here. It took mere moments for Misaki to fall asleep in his mother's arms, and Yai took him to his room, knowing exactly where to go.

They had lived here together, after all.

She came out of Misaki's room, closing the door softly behind herself and walked back into the living room. Chaud sat down a glass of apple juice for her, her favorite, and sipped on his own glass of water.

"Why did you come?" Chaud looked directly at Yai, but she was staring down at her juice cup in awe. She just couldn't believe he had remembered.

"I...wanted to apologize to you." She murmured, still looking down at the cup. How could he remember something so small?

"For what?" Chaud continued to look at her, memorizing her face, her eyes and her hair. It didn't matter that he had never forgot them; he couldn't, but it never hurt to have his memory refreshed.

"Well, I made you lie to your best friends for three years. Don't you think I owe you an apology?"

Chaud took a swig of his water, not answering her question for a moment. He took time to swallow slowly and then turned to look at her again, "You were afraid...I understand."

"So you forgive me?" Yai looked up, hopefully.

"No." Chaud said, almost immediately. It was too quickly because Yai could feel the sting of his words almost instantly. Her heart dropped in her stomach. "But if you let me take you to dinner, then maybe...I'll think about it."

Yai felt the red staining her cheeks. Chaud was always good at making her feel like she was 16 and not her actual age, "W-What?"

"I'll think about forgiving you if you go out with me."

"B-But Chaud-"

"You don't want to?"

Yai paused and actually thought about the question. Did she want to? Yes. She really, really wanted to.

"I-I do."

"I remember the last time you said those words." Chaud said, in his most teasing manner as he stood up to go get more water. Yai blushed madly as her mind flashed back to their wedding; the very last time she had said those words. Her mind ran through the entire ceremony and instantly to her wedding night...

Yai mentally shook her head and watched as Chaud got himself more water, realizing that she hadn't touched her glass of juice yet. She drank the honey colored liquid, savoring its sweet but crisp apple taste.

She was still surprised that he remembered it was her favorite.

"So are we speaking to each other now? In more than three sentences once a month?" Chaud asked, as he sat down. He watched as Yai slipped on her juice slowly.

Goodness, he loved her. She was the only woman in the world that could make him warm just by drinking juice.

"Would you like that?" She asked, as she sat the cup down. Chaud nodded and waited for her to finished taking her sip before she continued, "Okay then. We can talk."

"When?"

"Now. Tonight. Tomorrow." Yai sighed loudly, feeling the weight of the conversation, "Whenever you want to talk."

"Wow, I can't believe I have to schedule conversations with my _wife_," Chaud muttered and shook his head.

"Chaud, I said whenever you want to talk and I mean it. Whenever." Yai tried not to sigh out loud at Chaud's mention of the glittering object around her neck. Her wedding ring was still there, even if it wasn't on her finger. She wore it every day.

They were most definitely still married.

"Yai Blaze, promise me."

"Chaud, that isn't my-"

Chaud reached out and grabbed Yai's hands, his midnight blue eyes staring into her sparkling blue pools with a determination she hadn't seen since the NetNavi tournaments. "**We. Are still married.**"

Yai could feel her hands trembling. She didn't come over here for this! She wasn't trying to save her marriage; she was only trying to apologize for it going wrong. But it was obvious that Chaud had other plans.

And Yai was helpless to resist.

"That is definitely your last name. Just read your mail." Chaud glowered, releasing her hands. He stood up and took his cup to the sink. Yai could feel her bottom lip trembling and knew she had to get out.

Now.

"I'll call you later," she mumbled, as she stood up, nearly tripping over herself as she bounded to the door. Chaud remained where he was in the kitchen and she wasn't even sure if he had acknowledged her words or not.

Really, she didn't care right now. As she closed the door behind her and ran with all her might to the elevator, she heard Chaud's front door swing open. The elevator doors parted and she rushed in, slamming the button for the parking garage.

But it was too late. He had already seen her tears. Yai ran the rest of the way to her car as soon as she reached the garage and as soon as she got in it, the tears began.

And Mrs. Chaud Blaze sobbed in her car for the next ten minutes.

End Chapter 4


	5. Quiet Storm

Who Said Being In Love Was Easy?

By: Sailorjj07

5. Quiet Storm

A/n: Hey yall! My laptop was broken, so I do apologize. But I'll make it up to you with updates!

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Actions

(Me!)

Yai drove home in silence. It wasn't all that difficult, since there was no one else in the car with her in the first place, but it hurt to hear nothing all around her. She did have to say, though, that silence was much better than hearing herself sob. When Yai heard her own tears, the noise suffocated her.

It was hard to drive when tears were blurring your line of vision.

Yai sighed shakily, reaching forward to turn up her stereo. The sappy, lovesick music immediately blared in the car and Yai shook her head, changing the station as quickly as she had turned it on. Another station, this time playing sad and slow classical music, filled her ears and Yai sighed again, her vision clearing if only a little bit.

Tonight would be a long night. A very, very long night.

**At Chaud's**

He really hadn't meant to make her cry. He had seen the way her lip trembled as she sat on his couch, heard the shaky breathing as she ran out the front door and saw her choking back a sob as she got onto the elevator.

He knew the signs; Yai was going to her car to bawl her eyes out.

Chaud sighed, running a hair through his salt-and-pepper hair. He knew also that he was going to get a not so nice phone call as soon as Yai got home, if not in the next few minutes.

_**RING RING!**_

"Shit."

Chaud resisted the urge to groan loudly, looking in the direction of his cell phone as it sat on the end table. The phone began to ring louder, almost incessantly as it vibrated across the wooden surface. The caller-ID flashed Tory's name, a good sign, but Chaud wondered how long the Heavens would help him.

He quickly picked up when he realized the ringing would probably wake his son.

"Tory."

"Hey Chaud. How're you?"

"...You don't want to know."

Tory's soft chuckle could be heard through the phone even as he tried to hide it. "Oh? Sounds like something interesting happened. My wife did say something about Yai paying you a visit..."

"Yeah. She did."

"Want to talk about it?"

Chaud rolled his eyes. Tory could've at least tried to be subtle about it.

"I made her cry."

"Well that's not good."

Chaud sighed loudly, wishing Tory could see how he was glaring at the phone right now. Tory could be a bastard when he wanted to be. Stupid jerk.

"No, it's definitely not good."

And was that another chuckle he heard floating through the phone?

"So what did you say to make her cry exactly?"

"I told her we were still married. I don't know why she got upset. It's not like I was lying to her!" Chaud plopped down on the couch, stretching until his feet were touching the other end.

"No, but Chaud, I doubt she was ready to hear that. Or if she even wanted to hear it."

"Tory, I'd like to think that if she didn't want to, we'd've gotten a divorce already."

"Well maybe-" _**BEEEEP! **_

Chaud grimaced as he looked at his phone. Someone else was calling him and the name flashing across the screen told him that it wasn't good news.

"Tory, I'll call you back. Maylu's calling to scream at me."

Tory's full blown laughter echoed through the phone and Chaud fought the urge to growl as he clicked over to address his second call. He grimaced as soon as Maylu opened her mouth.

"Chaud, what the heck did you do to Yai?"

That was probably the closest Maylu would ever get to saying a curse word. She nor Lan ever cursed, but when Natalie got drunk and angry...sailors were prone to blush listening to her colorful language.

"I didn't do anything to Yai." Chaud fought the urge to sigh, knowing that if Maylu heard the sound, it'd open a whole other can of fury. Chaud didn't want to see the contents of it either. Not at all.

"You did. She was crying when she called me. She said you told her you guys were still married!"

"We ARE! I don't understand why it's such a problem for me to tell my wife that we are still married!" Chaud was exasperated and tried not to yell at Maylu too much. His son was bound to wake up with all this noise.

"Because, Chaud, she doesn't want to hear that right now. She's under a lot of stress, trying to make you guys' relationship work and-!" Maylu cut herself off as Chaud's eyes widened to a considerable size. He didn't know Yai was trying to work out their marital issues. That was news to him.

"Whoops, did I say that out loud? It's your fault for making me angry." Maylu giggled nervously, and Chaud could practically see the face she was making. Maylu was notorious for accidently spilling the beans, but it was only because she was so honest.

"Maylu, if she was trying to make our relationship work, why did she burst into tears because I said we are still married? We are! I don't see what's wrong with saying that."

"Because Chaud, it's a reminder. A reminder that she's still married and that it didn't work out that well. A sad reminder that she failed at something terribly. Plus that wasn't all you said right? Something about having to schedule phone calls with your life, right?"

"No Maylu, schedule phone calls with my wife. I said that I think it's stupid that I have to schedule phone calls with my wife."

"Well...I have to admit, that IS a little odd. Even for a woman as busy as Yai."

"What you mean to say is: even for a married woman as busy as Yai."

"Yes, of course." Chaud blinked again, staring as his phone line beeped once again. He was surprised to see Natalie's name flash across the screen, since he had just talked to Tory. Still, the call made him wonder what was going on, since his friends never called him this much. "Hey Maylu, I-"

"Chaud, I have to go, Tory's calling me."

_'Huh?'_

"Oh okay. Talk to you later."

"See ya!"

Chaud clicked over quickly, wondering what in the heck was going on. "Natalie, I just talked to Tory a minute ago, what's going on?"

"Chaud, we need you to come to our house right now! No stops, okay? Hurry! Get here quick!" Natalie gushed hurriedly, and Chaud felt a sudden surge of panic.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine! But hurry!"

"Okay, okay. Let me get Miki and I'll be there. Just...hold on a bit, okay?"

"I get to meet Misaki? So cool! Now you really have to hurry! Bye Chaud!" Natalie said, cheerfully, despite her message. Chaud looked at his cell phone in confusion before he pocketed the object and strode to Misaki's room. Natalie did tell him to hurry, after all.

**At the Froid House**

Natalie grinned at her husband as she hung up the phone, walking over to sit on the couch beside him.

"You know, you probably scared the crap out of him."

"It's his own fault; he made Yai cry. Revenge is a dish best served cold, you know."

"Riiiigghhhtt."

Tory smiled and kissed Natalie on the cheek as she ran her fingers through his hair, blushing like she was still in high school. Sometimes, it felt like their relationship was still brand new. Other days, it felt like they had been together forever.

But soon, everything was going to change.

The doorbell rang and the couple broke their gazes from each other as Tory stood up to get the door. Lan and Maylu filled the doorway, stepping into the house with warm smiles on their faces.

"Hey, you guys. Thanks for inviting us over!" Lan said, as he hung his jacket on the coat rack. He reached his hand out to take Maylu's jacket as Natalie ran over and grabbed her hand.

"I missed you so much!" Natalie cried, wrapping her arms around Maylu's neck once Lan had taken her jacket. Maylu laughed heartily, hugging her best friend back.

"I missed you too? You're so silly."

Natalie turned her wide smile to Lan, and glomped him next, "I'm so happy you guys are here!"

The action surprised Lan and he blushed brightly, not expecting the woman he saw as his sister to hug him so happily. Lan gave a nervous glance at Maylu before she nodded, and Lan patted Natalie on the back before she broke their hug.

"So what's up? You asked us over for a reason, right?" Lan asked, once he and Maylu had settled on the couch. Natalie and Tory sat next to them, both with smiles bursting from ear to ear.

"Oh, do you guys want something to drink?" Natalie shot up, ignoring the question while Tory watched her silently. Natalie motioned for him to follow her, while waiting for Maylu or Lan to say what they wanted.

_**DING DONG! DING! DONG!**_

"We'll drink whatever you have, Natty." Maylu responded as Lan got up to answer the door. Lan peeked through the peep hole surprised to see Yai standing on the other side.

"Yai? What're you doing here?" Lan asked, as he opened the door wide for the smaller woman. But Yai wasn't paying attention to Lan, she was watching as a sleek black car pulled up with her son in the back and her husband in the driver's seat.

As Yai's limo pulled away from the curb in front of the Froid house, Chaud parked his car against it and Yai walked away from the staring Lan to go get her son, who was now very awake.

"Hey Mi-chan!" Yai called to him as she walked towards the door. She waited until she heard a click and pulled the door open, removing her son from the car seat.

"Mommy!"

"Hi honey." She didn't even glance at Chaud as she removed Misaki from the car, and after she closed the door with her foot, she walked away from it, without so much as a glance behind her.

Chaud sighed loudly inside his car and opened the door slowly, taking his time to give the angry Yai some space. He knew she wasn't going to talk to him, but goodness; did she have to pull their son into this mess?

Then again, Chaud had to count his blessings because today would be the first time in years that he and Yai were with their mutual friends at the same time.

"Hey Chaud!" Lan cheered from the front door. He gave his friend an excited high five as the man finally made it to the front door, ignoring the frustrated look on his face. "Man, you and Yai are here at the same time! What'd Natalie promise you guys?"

"She said she wanted to meet Misaki." Chaud answered quietly, watching the back of Yai's blond head to gauge her reaction. Apparently his statement was news to her because Yai absolutely bristled.

Misaki, however, was in hog heaven. He remembered meeting his Uncle Lan and Uncle Tory before, but he didn't know who the two pretty ladies were. He giggled a bit and clung to his mother, pointing at the two women before turning back to Yai.

"Mommy?"

"Yes Mi-chan?"

"Who?"

Maylu and Natalie both moved closer to Yai, smiling warmly at the little boy as he looked up at them.

"This is your Auntie Maylu and your Aunt Natalie."

"Ooooh." Misaki replied, as if his mother's response was the most obvious answer to his question. He pointed at each woman, repeating his mother words, "Lulu and Lili?"

"Hi Misaki," Natalie and Maylu said together. They giggled at the way he said their names; it was just too cute! He smiled at them both and then held his arms out for Maylu first, who took him with a smile. Natalie pouted a bit before she ran back into the kitchen, fetching Yai's favorite apple juice and Chaud's coffee. She remembered exactly how Chaud liked it, so she didn't even ask if he had wanted coffee; she just sat it down in front of him.

Once everyone was seated, Natalie and Tory stood in front of their friends. Natalie was the first to speak, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet, "So we called you all here to tell you some very big news."

Yai squealed almost immediately, jumping up and hugging Natalie while the others looked on in utter confusion. When the two women began to celebrate between themselves, Tory cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Natalie means to say that in nine months, Misaki will have someone to play with."

"Say what?" Lan looked confused still and Maylu rolled her eyes, with a loud sigh.

"Lan, they're saying Natalie is pregnant."

The gravity of that answer finally dawned on everyone else and they were all up and on their feet, giving hugs and congratulatory pats on the back. Lan was really surprised but it was definitely a pleasant one.

"Wow! I'm so happy for you guys! I knew something was up that day we went to lunch!" Maylu told the couple, as everyone finally calmed down and relaxed. She bounced Misaki on her knee, who giggled in delight. "Natalie had a chocolate chip cookie and dipped it in orange juice! It was so gross."

"Yeah, Natty, you have the weirdest cravings ever!" Yai told her, laughing as she remembered how Natalie had just eaten jelly and mustard earlier that day.

Natalie smiled slowly, "Yeah, I guess I do." Another idea popped into Natalie's head and she looked at Misaki for a second before turning back to Yai, "Hey Yai? Did you have cravings like that when you were pregnant with Misaki?"

Yai blinked; surprised that Natalie had asked her that question. She almost panicked when everyone's eyes fell upon her, but then remembered that obviously her friends accepted her situation; hell, her son was sitting in the room on her best friend's lap so they had to be okay with it. Yai breathed in slowly to answer the question, but that very breath soon caught in her throat as Chaud's hand wrapped around her's very softly and slowly. It was as if he was saying to her, "I'm here."

Yai fought the urge to yank her hand away and allow her eyes to bulge out of the sockets like she wanted them to. Instead, she shakily answered the question, "I only really craved milk and apple juice, but since I drank them before, I don't think you could call it a craving really."

"You did eat a lot of chocolate chip cookies though," Chaud commented, a glimpse of a smile gracing his face. Yai blushed and looked down at her lap, trying to force back the memories.

She didn't realize how difficult that would be.

"And they HAD to be the chocolate chip cookies from Yumland. Any other cookie wasn't going to cut it," Chaud continued, the smile warming as he spoke. "I almost burned the house down trying to make her homemade cookies. Yai ate one, said they were okay and then proceeded to the bathroom to promptly throw it up. Talk about traumatizing. I'll never touch an oven again."

Yai felt everyone's eyes on her again, as if they were waiting for her response. Yai smiled as the memory surfaced and giggled, realizing she had made life difficult for him. As her laughter floated around the room, everyone else seemed to laugh along with her, seeing that the response was safe.

"Wow, Yai, I didn't know you had been like that!" Lan told her, surprised but feeling his heart warm at the fact that Yai and Chaud were telling them about their marriage. He had felt so sad when he found out that they had been keeping a secret from all of them, but now, it didn't hurt so much.

"Oh yeah, I made Chaud's life hell for a little while. One time, he went to one of those bulk grocery stores and bought premade cookies. I threw the entire container at him and told him that I wouldn't eat those cookies as long as there was a baby in my stomach," Yai outright laughed as she dwelled on that memory and found her own smile growing. "Chaud was so kind and put up with me the entire time."

Her words earned her a light hand squeeze that also gripped her heart.

"Man, I hope I'm not that bad." Natalie said, rubbing her stomach as a thoughtful expression crossed her face.

Tory smiled, wrapping his arms around his wife as she sat in his lap on the recliner, "Well, hey, if you ask for ice cream from Sharo, I can definitely get that for you."

"Aren't you just wonderful?" Natalie asked, reaching forward to pull on Tory's cheek. He yelped in pain as Natalie pulled his face as far as it would stretch a clear sign that his wife was not at all amused.

And all around them, their friends just laughed along with them. It seemed even the Heavens were laughing too, as thunder rumbled up above them.

"Whoa. Did you guys hear that?"

Tory paused in his conversation with Maylu and Lan upon hearing Natalie's question. She was holding a sleeping Misaki against her chest when she looked up towards the large window near the front door.

The wind had been blowing quietly but had slowly gotten stronger as time stretched on. Natalie stood up, handing Misaki back to his mother, and walked over to the window, "Oh crap. Guys, it looks like it's about to pour cats and dogs."

"Really?" Maylu stood up from the couch and walked over to look through the curtain. "Oh wow, it's dark and cloudy. I think your right, Lili."

Natalie giggled at her new nickname and walked back over to the couch, turning her gaze in the direction of the computer, "Nadalia, can you give me the most recent weather report?"

Nadalia looked up from her conversation with Megaman and Roll, a little surprised that Natalie had called on her when everyone else was in the computer too. "Of course, Lili."

"Not you too!"

Everyone laughed as Nadalia began her search. It only took a few moments, though, "It appears that a thunder storm is heading in this direction and it's supposed to be severe. I suggest everyone goes home before it starts."

"Oh, good idea." Lan said, nodding as he jacked Megaman out. Maylu followed suit with Roll and Yai grabbed Glyde even as Protoman stared at her face through the screen. She looked back at him steadily, but moved out of the way as Chaud came over.

"Protoman, do you have something to say?" Chaud asked him, glancing between his navi and his wife. Yai bit her bottom lip, looking between Protoman and Chaud.

"Hello Mrs. Blaze." Protoman bent his head as he spoke, not meeting eyes with Yai after he had spoken. Yai could feel her eyes stinging painfully, a strange joy spilling through her.

Protoman was speaking to her? He wasn't mad at her anymore?

"H-Hi Protoman." Yai nodded once and turned her back to the two, going over to Natalie to grab Misaki. She took him gently then gave Natalie a hug, "Lili, thank you for inviting us. I'm so happy for you. Truly."

"Then show me how glad you are by helping me with all this! I have no idea how to be a mom, not at all!" Natalie said, continuing to hug Yai, even with Misaki squished between them.

Yai nodded again, feeling a stinging burn in her eyes, "Call me anytime. I promise I'll do my best."

Natalie sniffed a little, finally releasing Yai, "Thanks so much!"

After hugs and good-byes were exchanged all around, Lan and Maylu left the Froid house followed by Yai and Chaud. Yai was buckling Misaki in his car seat when there was a loud boom of thunder and rain began to pour down on them in big fat drops.

"Ahhh!" Yai quickly closed Misaki's door, making sure to keep her son dry. She ran to go back under the safety of the Froid's porch, but was stopped by Chaud's hand wrapping around her wrist.

"Yai, you were driven here, right?"

Yai could barely hear him over the rain as it began to pour down around them, but she could hear her heart pounding in her eyes. What was he trying to say?

"W-Well, yes, I was, but the limo should be-"

"I'll take you home."

The words made her heart warm and absolutely frozen at the same time. What did he mean by take her home? To his house? Or to her's?

"Oh, you don't have to; I can just wait until-"

"Yai let me take you home." Chaud's eyes were steady as they glanced at her face and Yai felt her resolve melt. He was asking to take her home! He wanted to ride in a car with her! Yai couldn't believe it.

"O-Ok."

Chaud nodded, more to himself than to her, and lead her to the car. He opened the front passenger door and tried to blink the raindrops out of his eyes as Yai got in. Once he was in the car himself, he pulled away from the curb, turning the windshield wipers on full speed as it began to rain harder.

"Wow, this rain is serious."

"I-It is kind of sudden." Yai agreed, staring out of the window. She watched as grey, wet buildings filled her line of vision. She watched as they neared a stop sign and went rigid when Chaud's eyes fell on her. "Is something the matter?"

Chaud rolled his eyes in amusement, "I've never been to your new house before so I need you to tell me which way to go."

Yai paled in embarrassment before a bright red blush flushed her face. She turned back towards the window, but spoke loud enough to be heard,"T-turn right."

Chaud obeyed silently, trying not to laugh.

**At Yai's Condo**

If the rain was pouring down any harder, Chaud would swear that all of Dentech would be at risk for floods. Chaud couldn't remember the last time he saw it rain this heavy, but he was glad that he was safely inside.

His gaze took in the whole of Yai's house. Since he had never come here before, it was surprising to see that she had decorated it almost exactly like their wing of his parent's house. But Yai liked what she liked; where she lived didn't matter.

Yai smiled at him as she came back into the living room, sitting down on the couch beside him. Her mind briefly flashed back to the last time they had been sitting on a couch together, but she tried not to dwell on that.

"What do you think?"

Yai's question broke the silence easily, and Chaud looked amused. Yai was apparently much improved from the nervous mess she had been in the car, and for that, her husband was thankful.

"I feel like I've been here before, even though I never have."

"Huh?" Yai was confused. Of course he had never been here before! She had made sure of that.

"Well, it looks just like our house."

"You mean our old house?"

"I used the term 'our', didn't I?"

Yai huffed, feeling irritated already. Why did he have to keep reminding her of their effed up relationship? That's why she didn't like being around him, because he was always reminding her. And Misaki was definitely reminder enough...

"Yai."

Yai blinked as Chaud's face came into her line of vision. Her breath hitched in her throat. Goodness, why was he so close to her?

"Y-Yes?"

Chaud leaned back, an eyebrow raised at her sudden blush. "Thanks for doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Letting me come over. I know this was really hard for you to do..."

"Well, yeah it was-"

"Even though it shouldn't be."

Yai frowned. Was this man stupid or what? Did he forget how much heartache she went through? Was he forgetting how much they had hurt each other? Or maybe he just didn't care...

"Chaud, why do you always do that? Yes, it was difficult for me to bring you here, and you know what? You're making me regret doing it." Yai stood up and stormed off to her kitchen, deciding immediately that she needed something, anything! That was going to keep a slowly forming headache at bay.

But Chaud refused to drop the conversation and followed her. He walked in right after her, watching her devour a cookie without a second thought, "Because it shouldn't be difficult. You wouldn't even sign divorce papers if I had them prepped and faxed over here right now."

"Do it and we'll see."

Chaud huffed, coming closer and closer to her with each word, "You're the worst liar ever."

"You and I both know that isn't true."

"Yai, if you don't want us to be together than say it."

"Fine. I don't want us to be together."

He was standing in front of her now, practically looming over her. He reached forward and took hold of her chin with one hand, guiding her face upward. His other hand reached for the necklace that was tucked into her shirt, his long, warm fingers brushing against her collarbone as he held out the evidence between them, "You don't want us to be together, huh? Then why are you still wearing this?"

Yai swallowed visibly, and it wasn't from the cookie she had already eaten either. As her gaze focused on the ceiling, her blue eyes went wide with absolute shock on her face. She seemed surprised that Chaud knew exactly what the necklace was, but of course, he knew what her wedding ring looked like even if he hadn't know. Hell, he bought the thing.

He moved to put the ring back and slowly trailed his free hand down her throat into her shirt. He made sure to place the ring back just as he found it, but by then it was entirely too late. Chaud felt the urge to touch her so forcefully, so strongly, that he had leaned much closer to her face then he had planned. She was already standing on her tiptoes as he placed both hands on the side of her face and he licked his lips as he bent down to devour her mouth.

Yai felt her back collide with the wall behind her, felt Chaud lean his entire body into her's as he kissed her breath away. She was gasping by the time he pulled away to let her breathe, but he dove right back in to let her know that he wasn't finished with her yet.

Chaud had always been a good kisser, but it was something about his wife that made him try harder. Something that gave him an innate satisfaction to leave her lips red and nearly swollen from kisses. His hand tortured her slowly on a path down her neck, tickling her collar bone and then-

_**RING RING!**_

Chaud broke from their kiss and sighed loudly, as Yai tried to catch her breath and slow down her pounding heartbeat.

"Hello?"

A muffled female voice drifted through the phone and Chaud's look of frustration increased. He glanced at Yai, who was still pretty much out of it, before turning back to the voice on the phone.

"Isabel, I'm busy. It can't be that serious."

A reply, but it sounded a tad frustrated.

"Why did you even call me in the first place? That's my father's area anyway!"

Yai watched Chaud glare at the phone, wondering who the hell he was talking to. Her breathing was somewhat back to normal, but she could feel her cheeks still very warm.

"You can't find his number? You do know that you're supposed to be my secretary right? What kind of secretary doesn't have the parent company's contact information?"

Another reply, but Chaud soon cut the person off.

"Forget it. You're fired. And if I get a call from security saying you were being a handful...I will personally remove you myself."

The voice was panicked, pleading with Chaud but she never got any further...Chaud had hung up.

"What was that all about?" Yai asked, curiosity getting the better of her. Chaud shrugged and turned back to pounce on her, running his tongue along her bottom lip. Yai's mind went blissfully blank and she resisted the urge to sigh out loud.

"Doesn't matter," Chaud murmured against her lips, and as if to further prove his point, he picked his tiny wife (kind of?) up off the ground and carried her to her room. They fell on the big bed together as they continued what had started in the kitchen and Yai couldn't believe how happy she was to have Chaud in her bed.

He kissed her hard, hoping to steal all the heat that was coming off her warm body in waves. He really had missed her. So very, very much.

And Chaud decided to show her just how much as the rain continued to pour down outside.

End Chapter 5


	6. The Morning After

Who Said Being In Love Was Easy?

By: Sailorjj07

6. The Morning After

A/n: Somebody who really loves me gave me inspiration for this chapter! Thank you so much Jetfire! I feel like you're my own personal cheering squad.

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

Yai woke up to the sun kissing her cheeks. The warmth that flooded her room was uncanny, because it was never THIS warm at her house. But it felt good.

Really, really good.

Yai stretched slowly, taking her time to curl her toes and extend her legs out as far as they could reach. She grimaced when she accidently flicked Chaud's noise with her finger and he pouted at her.

"Oops. Sorry. I'm not used to you being this close-"

Yai cut herself off. Truthfully, at some point in their lives, she was absolutely fine with Chaud lying so close beside her, with his arms around her petite frame. But since it had been a while ago...Yai tried not to think about it.

"I can tell. Ouch." Chaud gave a fake look of pain and Yai giggled at him as she shifted her body against the pillows, rolling over on her stomach.

"Thank you for letting me sleep here." Chaud told her, all silliness aside. His eyes sparkled like he meant to say more, but didn't.

"Well, I couldn't very well leave you out in the rain. It was pouring yesterday!"

"Is that what you told yourself when you let me in?"

Yai blushed. She had let him in a lot of places not excluding her condo, her bedroom, her bed...

Chaud kissed her on the cheek and Yai fought the urge to sigh.

Goodness, he was trying to get inside her heart too.

"I-I didn't tell myself anything...It just sort of happened."

Chaud lifted an eyebrow and gaze steadily at her blue eyes as he spoke, "Do you regret it?"

Yai looked at him and felt her heart pounding in her ears. It was looks like that, that got her in trouble. She blushed again and looked down at her hands; was he the only man that would ever make her feel this way?

"No."

It was one single word, but it meant the world to Chaud. The smile on his face was absolutely genuine, filled with a warmth and happiness she hadn't seen in a while.

Chaud nodded and leaned back against the pillow, "Okay. I can deal with that."

Yai wished her face would stop burning so very much, and made moves to get out of the bed.

"Wait, where are you going?" Chaud reached up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down on the bed. She fell down with a soft, "Oomph" and glared at her salt-and-pepper haired husband.

"To make breakfast. Your son will be up soon, if he isn't already."

"MAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Chaud laughed outright when their nearly three year-old soon bellowed insanely from his bedroom. Yai couldn't help but laugh herself as she made her way towards his room, shaking her head.

"He got those lungs from you," Chaud told Yai, getting up out of her bed as well. He figured they both may as well greet the child.

"Yeah, but he got that incessant calling from you. Remember how often you called for me, for no reason? Like that day you were working on a project and couldn't leave your office! You had me come all the way to the other wing of the house, just for a kiss!"

"And you came right away." Chaud smirked at his wife as he opened the door to their son's room, and Misaki quieted immediately, curious to see the two together.

"Mama? Papa?" Misaki blinked and rubbed his eyes a few times. He wasn't dreaming, was he? Usually, when he stayed at Mama's house, Papa was not there. So why was he here now?

"Papa?" Misaki held his hands up for his father, who smiled and picked up the boy without a moment's hesitation.

"Good morning, Mi-chan."

Misaki nodded at his father and then turned to look at his mother with curious, wide eyes, "Mama?"

"Hi Mi-chan! Did you sleep well?"

"Yep! Mi-chan sleep well!" Misaki looked between the two parents and then wiggled for his father to let him go.

"Where we?"

"Huh? Where are we? Mi-chan, we're at my house, remember?"

"Mama's house?"

"Yes. This is your room at Mama's house." Yai told Misaki, following the child as she walked behind him. She looked at Chaud, the confusion clear on her face, but he shrugged. He didn't get what was going on either.

"But...Papa here?"

"Yes. I'm right here, Misaki." Chaud grinned and patted his son on the head, before he scooped him up again. "So, are you hungry?"

"Yeesss! Mi-chan hungy!"

"Well good! What does Mi-chan want to eat today?"

Misaki looked thoughtful, and then glanced warily at his parents, "I eat with Mommy and Daddy?"

"Yes, of course." Yai smiled reassuringly at her son, thoroughly confused at this point. Why was Misaki asking all of those questions?

With a shrug, Chaud led the way into the kitchen with Misaki in his arms and Yai following shortly behind them, trying to figure out why her son was making such odd faces.

**Around Noon**

"You guys probably freaked him out, you know?"

Yai watched Natalie browse the maternity section slowly, leaning against the rack behind her. Natalie's choices were cute so far: two strapless dresses, a dress with an empire waist and a plaid pattern on the skirt and pockets, and another dress that was simply a button down tunic. The fabric looked very breathable.

"But how? I don't get what freaked him. It's not like he's never seen us in the same room before."

Natalie sighed, as if she were dealing with a stupid person and turned to Yai with a look of pure seriousness. It surprised Yai to see Natalie's straight face. She was always known as the cheerful, silly one amongst them.

"Yai, you and Chaud have never been together in a room longer than five minutes with your son. He's not stupid; he knows something hasn't been right with your family picture since after his birth. Mi-chan knows that you two live in separate houses, he knows that you guys aren't around each other. He's used to you both one on one, not two at the same time. You can't tell me you didn't think about that."

Yai blanched; she hadn't! The rush of panic spread across her and filled her face. What if this messed up Misaki's idea of family? What if she and Chaud didn't work out AGAIN and Misaki had to deal with them splitting a second time? Yai tried not to gasp as the panic took hold of her.

Natalie caught on to Yai's feelings quickly; she could practically feel the negative emotion rolling off of her best friend in waves. She grabbed Yai by the shoulders and stared at her with calm, violet eyes.

"Yai, stop freaking out. You love Chaud and he loves you. You guys WILL work it out, even if I have to come over there and beat it into both of you. You just have to be mindful of Mi-chan. This relationship isn't just about you and Chaud anymore; there's another person that your decisions affect now."

Yai nodded as she felt her eyes tearing up. When she realized what was happening, Natalie pulled her friend into a tight hug quickly, before the tears could fall. She looked around them from left to right and gave a sigh of relief. No one was close enough to see them.

"I-I'm sorry I ju-just-!"

"Aww Yai, it's okay. Don't cry honey, you'll make me cry! And you don't want to get the pregnant lady crying! I won't ever stop!"

Yai laughed as she pulled away from Natalie, wiping away the few tears that managed to escape. She smiled at her friend and placed her hand on the flat stomach that would soon become swollen with the baby.

"You should have been a mother before me, Natalie. You're so calm and mature about it all." Yai looked up at Natalie again, and the smile on her face was bittersweet.

Natalie smiled widely, a warm smile that lifted some of the weight from Yai's heart, "Oh Yai. You were supposed to be first. I've learned so much from you already. I'm sure I won't be so calm or mature when the baby is born. And you have Tory to thank for a lot of my calmness and maturity."

"Yeah, he definitely got Iceman for a reason. I didn't even know he liked girls until you came around!" Yai told Natalie, giggling girlishly.

Natalie looked absolutely amused as she walked towards the check-out line. Yai followed her gladly, feeling better already. Shopping was indeed a soothing practice.

"I'm really surprised by that! Tory's an absolute pervert!" Natalie replied as they stood in line.

"Well maybe he had a long time to think about it? Hahaha!"

"I'm telling him you said that!"

**With Chaud**

"Chaaaaauuuuuuuudddd~! Where is Mi-chan? I came over here to see him and he's not here!" Lan tried not to pout but it was showing on his face. He looked around for his little "nephew", hoping to play with him, but the toddler was nowhere to be found.

"Lan, I called you over so I could talk to you, not so you could play with my son. Thanks for being such a great friend."

"Ehh? But you could've just called me for that." Lan sat down on the couch and looked behind the sofa, hoping the little boy was back there. "But where is he?"

"He's taking a nap, idiot." Chaud sat down on the couch too, glaring as he crossed his arms across his chest. "So shut up. You're too loud."

"Awwwwwww. Boooo. That sucks." Lan pouted a little more before he turned to face Chaud, "So what is it that you wanted to talk about? Since I can't play with Mi-chan, I may as well talk to you."

"Gee thanks." Chaud took a deep breath and released it slowly before he began. He tried to keep himself from feeling remorse; his initial instinct was to call Tory, but instead he had called Lan, knowing he was on his lunch break.

Now, he tried not to regret it.

"This morning Yai and I had breakfast with Misaki. He kept asking if we were going to do this and that together, like one of us was suddenly going to leave him with the other. I know that it probably came from us living in two different houses, but would he really notice that? I mean, he's just a kid. He doesn't know the difference...right?"

Lan's eyes looked thoughtful for once, before he answered the question truthfully, "Chaud, of course he knows. You know that yourself. When your Dad ignored you as a kid, did you notice?"

"But that's different-!"

"Different how, exactly? Chaud, Misaki is used to being around one of you at a time. The only time he was with you both was when he was born. But for the past year and a half, you and Yai have been doing this trade-off business; of course he would know."

"So...should Yai and I not get back together?"

"What? Chaud, I thought you were smarter than me! Of course you two should try! No wait, not try, you should just do it!"

"What?" Chaud looked at Lan in confusion. "We should just do what?"

"Get back together! You both love each other. What's the big deal?"

"Yai is going to be even more wary of this now. I'm sure she's figured out about this morning too."

"So what? You won her over once; just do it again! Or is the mighty Chaud Blaze afraid of a blonde haired, blue eyed midget?" Lan grinned as Chaud smirked cheerfully.

"I ought to tell her what you called her."

"Wait, no! I was only kidding!" Lan's face whitened considerably, and he shook his head fiercely. Chaud chuckled loudly while Lan tried to plan a way to save his life.

"Unwcle Wan? Papa?"

It was at that precise moment that Misaki decided to wake up from his nap. He smiled a gap-tooth smile at Lan and ran to him, giggling incessantly.

"There you are, little guy! I was looking everywhere for you!" Lan lifted the child high off the ground and over his head, before catching him with ease.

"Me?"

"Yup. You. Were you hiding from me?" Lan tickled the child on his sides, smiling as the child giggled even more,"Huh? Were you hiding from your Uncle Lan?"

"Noooooo~!" Misaki said, trying to speak past his own laughter.

"Are you suuuurrreee?"

"Hahahaha~! Me sure! Me sure!"

Lan stopped his onslaught of tickles as quickly as they had began and grinned adorably at the toddler, "Well, good then! I brought something for you, would you like to see it?"

Chaud watched the two in amusement. He had never had any siblings, but if he ever had a brother, Lan was the closest to it. He was happy he could share his son with his friends.

And now, if he and Yai could work it out, he wouldn't have to share his son. They could all be together; all the time, even.

Chaud tried to piece together a plan while his son and Lan played. He knew he was going to have to convince Yai that they were going to work out. He **needed** her to believe that they were going to be fine.

Chaud sighed loudly; goodness, he had his work cut out for him.

End Chapter 6


	7. A Plan In Action

Who Said Being In Love Was Easy?

By: Sailorjj07

7. A Plan in Action

A/n: Hey everyone! I graduated from college! Maybe I'll have time to write a lil something now! Yay! Anyways, here you go! Think of this as a late Christmas present!

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

Yai ran her fingers through her spiral curled blonde hair and tried not to sigh out loud. This meeting was going nowhere fast, and she needed to end it, faster.

Her father had sent this pretentious man to her office and now, he was pissing her off, royally.

"Look, you're making this a bigger deal than it really is, Mr. Takarada. All you have to do is sign and you get a quarter of our company's stock in your own. We don't gain anything from this deal, you get 100 percent profit. My father has become fond of you and he wants to make you a genuine business deal."

"All business deals are a big deal, Ms. Yai."

Yai muttered something that sounded like "goodness gracious" under her breath and walked over to the other end of the conference table to sit beside the man.

"What can I do to make you sign? You're getting everything you asked for and more with this deal. Surely, it's not because you don't trust my family?"

"Oh, I trust your family, Ms. Yai. I just don't trust single women."

"What?" Yai was almost floored by the man's statement but she appreciated his honesty. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. As a single woman, you don't have sympathy for families. I cannot in good conscious sign a business deal with a woman that doesn't care about families."

"What're you talking about? I have a so-!"

Yai was cut off as the phone near her chair at the head of the conference table began to ring. She marched over to the phone, trying not to glare at the man in the room with her. She slammed her finger on the speakerphone button and turned her angry face to her secretary.

"What?"

"Mrs. Yai, your husband is here to see you."

The gasp from the other end of the table was utterly audible. Yai resisted the urge to flip the man off and instead covered her face in a generous smile, "Oh please send him in, right away. I need his help with something."

As if on cue, Chaud strolled into the room with Misaki in tow, both wearing business suits, and both looking extremely handsome. Chaud shook hands with the man closest to the door first, before making his way over to Yai.

She smiled, in an attempt to ease Chaud's suspicion at her request to see him so suddenly, and instead leaned up on her tip-toes and kissed him, right then and there. Misaki squealed and ran over to the two, shouting to his mother that he wanted a kiss too.

After she had kissed Chaud completely and thoroughly, she kneeled down and picked up Misaki and kissed him all over his face, causing the child to burst into a fit of giggles.

"Mr. Takarada, this is my family. As you can see, I am not a single woman. I'm married AND I have a son. Please believe me when I say that my business plans have my family completely and utterly included in them. They are my first and foremost obligation and responsibility." As she spoke, Yai walked over to the end of the table where her client sat and produced a pen. She pointed at the contract in front of him and said with the most warming smile, "Now you can sign here, here, and here."

"Mrs. B-Blaze, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"No, you didn't. But, don't worry, it's quite alright. Holly will be here to collect the papers when you're done signing them." And Yai turned and held her hand out for Chaud to take as she led them out of the conference room.

**At Lunch**

"So now are you going to tell me what happened?" Chaud chewed on his asparagus thoughtfully, waiting for Yai to tell him the reason for her display at her office. She had refused to talk about it until they were out of the building, seething in the car while Chaud drove them to a restaurant for lunch.

Misaki cheered as he dipped his duck-shaped, baked chicken nugget into fat-free barbeque sauce.

"That...jerk didn't want to take Daddy's offer because he thought I wasn't married."

Chaud smirked in amusement, taking a sip of juice before he spoke, "Well, isn't that your fault for not wearing your ring?"

"It's ugly."

"Yai, why ARE you such a bad liar?" Chaud chuckled again, and Yai fought the urge to chuck something at him.

"Well...You don't wear your ring either!"

To prove her wrong, Chaud lifted his hand up and showed the single silver band to his disbelieving wife.

"There's no way you've been wearing this the entire time! You just put that ring on!" Yai grabbed Chaud's hand to slide the ring off of his finger. Instead, Chaud wrapped his fingers around her's and pulled her hand close to his chest.

Yai stopped all movement, the reddest blush ever staining her cheeks. Her breath caught in her throat and she glanced almost frantically at Chaud, trying to figure out what he was doing in public.

"You promised to let me take you out, Yai."

"Right, but what are we going to do about Mi-chan?"

"Oh, he can come too. Or...Natalie and Tory said they would watch him if we needed them to. As did Lan and Maylu; whatever you want to do, honey. Your choice."

"Uncwle Wan? Lulu?" Misaki looked between his two parents, a hopeful look on his face.

"Well, would you look at that? Looks like he answered for you." Chaud ruffled his son's hair with his free hand, who grinned at him widely.

"So...what do you say? Mrs. Blaze, can I take you out tonight?"

Yai nodded slowly, not trusting her voice to answer his question. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, and Chaud looked so gorgeous today with his hair straight down his back and that warm smile on his face. The suit he wore fit him perfectly and was tailored to fit regardless of how he moved. Even her adorable son was handsome, but right now, his father was taking all her attention.

His midnight blue eyes shined almost mysteriously, and Yai tried not to blush any harder than she already was.

"Where are you taking me?"

"If I told you, that'd kill the whole thing, right?" And that was the only answer Yai was getting for the rest of the day.

**At 2:30 p.m.**

"He bought you flowers? How sweet!"

Yai grinned as she turned the bouquet over in her hands. The pretty blue, pink and gold flowers were gorgeous even though she wasn't the type for such displays usually. She had gotten the flowers in the middle of a phone call with a client. As soon as she had gotten off of the phone, she read the card inside that said plainly "I love you" with Chaud's neat signature.

She immediately called Natalie after she took several deep breaths to keep her tears at bay.

"Chaud is really trying to win me over." Yai said, warmly, hoping Natalie could hear the joy in her voice.

"Well, let him! He loves you! And he's willing to show you. Tory's never sent me flowers!" Natalie exclaimed, and Yai heard a burst of giggles as she heard Natalie's phone shift.

"Only because she doesn't like them." Tory said loudly enough for Yai to hear and she knew he was sitting with Natalie in his lap. They did that often enough for Yai to know what was happening on that end of the line.

"That's not the point, baby."

"But it is, kind of." Tory's amused voice always made Yai smile and she giggled at Natalie's exasperated sigh.

"Whatever! Anyways, did he tell you where he's taking you?"

"Ooooh, they're going on a date?" Yai laughed outright as she heard Tory ask the question and Natalie shush him immediately. "Sorry, Yai, I have a very nosey husband. Anyway, do you know?"

"Nope, I have no idea. He just asked if I could go somewhere with him and I said I would. And he said he would call Lan and Maylu to see if they would watch Mi-chan for us."

"Oh, I'm sure they will. I think Lulu's off today."

"Well if not, would Lili like to watch him for us?" Yai tried not to laugh as she said Misaki's nickname for Natalie. Natalie, however, killed that idea as she burst out laughing herself.

"Oh my goodness, I'm never going to get away from that nickname now! Wait till he's 18, I'm going to tease him so bad." Yai laughed along with Natalie as she waited for her to continue, "Of course we'll watch him for you, if Maylu and Lan won't."

"Well thanks, I appreciate it."

"Sweetie, we're going to do everything we can to help you guys get back together. If that means lil Mi-chan has to stay the night at my house so you guys can have some real mommy and daddy time, please don't hesitate to ask me."

"Wha-what? Who said we were-?" Yai was blushing beet red, and Natalie laughed harder than she had since the start of their conversation.

"Bye Yai. Love you. Have fun tonight~!" And without waiting for her to say anything else, Natalie hung up the phone. Yai stared at her phone for a while, wondering just what was going through Natalie's head.

Yai loved Natalie like the sister she never had, but goodness, that woman was crazy. Yai shook her head and replaced the phone on its cradle, going back to her work and mentally going through her closet. She wanted to look amazing tonight.

**Later**

"Wow. You look absolutely stunning."

Well, stunning seemed like a promotion from amazing, so Yai knew she did well. The dress she wore was a soft blue off the shoulder. She played down the lightness of the blue with a dark black jacket and silver jewelry to match. Yai never saw the point in wearing gold; her hair was golden enough. She wore slightly higher heels than she would wear to work but the one thing that made the largest statement to Chaud was that she wore her wedding ring on her hand.

"Yai...you're wearing it in public? Are you sure you want to?"

"Well...I wear it in public anyway. But I may as well be your wife while we're out, right?"

Instead of speaking, Chaud gathered her in his arms and kissed her slowly, careful not to mess up her make-up or her clothes. By the time he pulled away, Yai was seriously contemplating calling Natalie and asking her about the offer she had made earlier.

Chaud smiled and ran his thumb across her cheek, as the blush he had caused got even redder, "There we go. That's what was missing." Chaud gave Yai a blinding smile and took her hand gently, leading her towards his car.

"So I thought we'd eat first. Are you hungry?"

Yai nodded quietly for the second time today. Her voice was still untrustworthy. Chaud smiled again and they took off into the night, neither of them speaking. It was not even ten minutes before they pulled into a restaurant, and Chaud allowed the valet to go park his car while he and Yai made their way inside.

**With Lan and Maylu**

Maylu smiled as she walked into the living room. Lan and Misaki had run all over the house and at the park and it appeared they both had tuckered each other out. Maylu gently laid a blanket over the two, taking care to keep Misaki's face uncovered.

She kissed the sleeping child gently on the forehead and turned to do the same to his uncle when a hand snaked from under the blanket and pulled her down on the couch as well. Lan grinned and snuggled into Maylu's chest, holding her close to him while still keeping an arm around Misaki.

"Maylu, when we get married...I want to make sure Misaki and the Froids' baby have another playmate."

Maylu blushed at what Lan was implying, but she shouldn't have been surprised. Lan treasured his friends and family above anything else.

Maylu smiled, her heart growing warm from the man she loved, "Of course, Lan. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Lan pressed a kiss into Maylu's collar bone and hugged her closer to him, if that was possible. "I love you, Maylu."

"I love you too, Lan."

End Chapter 7


	8. Bandage

Who Said Being In Love Was Easy?

By: Sailorjj07

8. Bandage

A/n: Whooa, I haven't been here in a very long while. How y'all doin?! I'm very much alive I promise you. Since I work at a computer everyday for 8 hours, I sorta avoid my computer at home, which is bad, since that means I'm not getting any writing done. Plus I got two new hobbies~! I cosplay AND I recently got into Lolita! So my weekends have been busy. I'm going to get back in the flow of things though. I think writing fics will help me with writing at work. So shout out to you guys for helping me with my career! ^_^

Disclaimer: I do now own!

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Actions**

(Me!)

**CRASH! SLAM!**

"Whoooo! Hahaha!"

Maylu was sleeping peacefully until she heard thunderous noises erupting from her kitchen. Groggily, the red head surveyed her bedroom slowly, taking note of her oblivious fiancée, Lan.

Everything looked perfectly fine and safe. She glanced towards her bedroom window, half-expecting to see the sky covered in dark gray clouds.

But it wasn't.

The sun peered in through the bedroom window eagerly greeting the day. Maylu frowned, her gaze sweeping the room one more time. If it wasn't raining outside...?

Another loud noise echoed into her bedroom and finally Maylu realized what was missing.

"MISAKI!"

Maylu bolted out of bed, throwing the covers over Lan's face in the process, as she ran as quickly as she could to her kitchen. How had Misaki managed to get out of the bed without her noticing?

"Lulu?" Maylu felt herself calm down a little at the sound of the toddler's voice. If he was hurt or scared, he would have been crying. Instead, the tiny tike had a wide smile on his face as he banged on the assortment of pots and pans in front of him. Apparently, he was performing a concert for his teddy bear, who sat on the other side of his "instruments".

"Mi-chan! There you are!" Maylu smiled warmly as she scooped up the adorable baby boy. She kissed his cheeks cheerfully, much to Misaki's delight.

"Lulu! Hi!"

"Hi Mi-chan! How did you get all of this stuff out here?"

Giggling Misaki pointed the wooden spoon at his teddy bear.

"Oh? Boba put all of this out here? What a smart teddy!" Maylu balanced Misaki on her hip as she picked up the stuffed animal, handing it to Misaki. He hugged his bear close and grinned at his Aunt Lulu.

Maylu surveyed the damage silently before giving Misaki a once over to make sure that he was truly alright. Once she confirmed that the child was okay, she took him back into the bedroom and dropped him on top of Lan's butt. He made a grumbling noise as Misaki laughed loudly, climbing up on top of his uncle's back.

"Wan! Wan! Waaaaaaaaaaaannnnn!" Misaki laid his head next to his uncle's ear, in an effort to wake him up. His only response was another loud snore from the man.

Maylu smiled as Misaki turned to her, clearly at a loss.

"Laaaaaaaannnnnnnn. Lan! Wake up!" Maylu shook his shoulder a few times, to which Lan rolled over and pulled Misaki into his arms. In response, the toddler gave his uncle wet kisses all over his face.

"Ahhh! Maylu! Help! I'm being attacked!"

Misaki laughed loudly, putting his arms around his uncle's neck, "Up, Wan! Up!"

"Ok! Ok!"

Maylu grinned at the two and left her bedroom to clean her kitchen and feed the two goofballs in her bed.

**At Chaud's House**

Chaud pulled his sleeping wife closer to his body, if that was even possible. His fingers softly caressed her golden hair as she breathed, in and out, comforting Chaud in a way he had never known.

He had missed her so much. When Yai left, it was like his entire heart had been ripped out and left on the pavement to dry. He knew she had never meant to hurt him, but that didn't stop the constant pain in his heart. Everything he saw reminded him of Yai. He would go to restaurants and see her favorite food on the menu and ache. He'd see families together and then want to cry because his family was separated. Even watching TV was painful. The romantic movies and TV shows would remind him of how he had failed his family and movie previews would always leave him wondering if Yai would be willing to watch the film with him. Some days it would make him so angry that she was always on his mind and that's when he did stupid things. Like get drunk and bring random women home.

Chaud sighed out loud, clearing his train of thought. Yai was here now and he was going to do everything he could to keep her. He swore right then and there to never, ever lose his wife again.

No matter what.

Yai moved a bit in her sleep, turning to bury her face in his chest. Chaud couldn't help but grin at the warmth flooding his chest, from both her breathing and his own happiness. Everything had turned out perfectly last night. Dinner was wonderful, the romantic-comedy they saw set the mood even more, and after two ice cream cones, Yai had asked to stay the night with him. She stated up front that she wasn't going to let anything happen, but that was all right with Chaud anyway. He knew that being the perfect gentlemen would benefit him in the battle to win his wife back so instead he gave her a glass of wine, held her, and just let her talk.

"Mmmmmmmmmm..." Yai squeezed Chaud around his middle as she woke up slowly, removing her tight grasp on him. Chaud released her as those beautiful blue eyes opened and she stretched with a drowsy look on her face.

"Hmmmmmm," she stretched again, a lazy smile filling her whole face, "Chaud... How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to know that you get more beautiful every minute."

Yai covered her face with her hands, attempting to hide her blush, "And I see you've gotten even better at flirting."

"Hahaha, I've always been good at flirting; I've just never had to use it on you." Chaud reached out and moved Yai's hands from her face, taking in the pretty blush staining her cheeks. Yai tried to pull her hands back towards her face and Chaud smirked before throwing his leg over Yai and straddling her. He held her wrists down with his own hands, on either side of her head, to keep her from covering her face.

"Yai. You don't have to hide your face, sweetheart."

"B-But..." Yai's blush was slowly spreading, if that was possible. Her heart was pounding in her chest as her gaze meet with his.

"I love you. All of you." Still holding her wrists, Chaud leaned forward to kiss Yai's forehead with a smile, "I love your giant forehead." He then bestowed a kiss on her nose, "And your adorably tiny nose." He kissed both of her cheeks and stared directly into her eyes, "I love the way your face turns red when you're embarrassed." Finally, he kissed her mouth, setting Yai's face ablaze, much like the last name they shared together. But the meaningful kiss was brief, and Chaud smirked down at his completely flustered wife as he pulled away.

"So how good are my flirting skills?"

"Ugh! Chaud, get off of me! Jerk!" Yai struggled underneath him, attempting to break free while her husband laughed heartily at her quick switch from joy to anger. It made her even more endearing.

Chaud wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and pulled her closer to him, "So you're off today, right?"

"I wish. I'm only working a half day though! If that helps." Yai smiled up at her husband, who looked down at her with a look of mock surprise.

"How works on a weekend? What's wrong with you?"

Yai giggled and reluctantly pulled away from him, climbing out of the bed and stretching slowly, "I own part of my Father's company. How are you not working today?"

Chaud winked, "I seduced my secretary and asked her to cover for me." Chaud laughed heartily as a pillow was hurtled in his direction. "I'm kidding, babe! I'm kidding."

"Chaud, stop fooling around and get dressed! We have to pick up Misaki!"

**Later, At 1 p.m.**

Yai strolled into her office after lunch with Misaki and Chaud with a smile from ear to ear. She was so happy that her family could be together; glad that they were slowly, but surely, mending the broken pieces and becoming a real family, once again.

She smiled as employees stopped what they were doing to bow in her direction, waving at the people she was friendly with. She stopped at her secretary's desk to smile warmly at her, happy that she was only there for half a day.

"Ms. Yai! Welcome back." Her secretary stood up and gave her a courteous bow. Yai smiled back.

"Good afternoon! Did I get any calls?"

"No ma'am, but your new intern is here."

"Oh? On a Saturday? What a diligent kid." Yai put her hand on the door knob of her office, looking around the lobby. "Where are they?"

"Inside your office. He insisted that you'd be okay if he waited in there. I tried to tell him no but-!"

Yai opened the door immediately, curious to see who this bold intern was. Who was he to wait in HER office?

"...Oh my God." Yai's hands flew to her mouth, and she stared into the eyes of a cheerful young man, one she knew very, very well.

"CHISAO?!"

End Chapter 8


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